North Korea Sinking Of South Korean Frigate Raises Arab Fear Of Nuclear Iran

The Eurasia Review ^ | 5/29/2010 | Riad Kahwaji

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan last March 26 by a North Korean torpedo has prompted some Arab Gulf officials to wonder whether this would be a scenario that they would likely face with a nuclear-armed Iran in the future. North Korea, now equipped with nuclear arms, appears to have grown bolder in its provocations of its U.S.-allied neighbor in the south and other parts of East and Southeast Asia. An international team of investigators concluded that the warship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo. Seoul’s reaction has thus far been mild compared to its loss of 46 sailors in the incident. South Korea’s retaliation has been restricted to few steps: Cutting off trade ties with Pyongyang; barring North Korean ships from entering the South’s waters; seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the attack; and demanding an apology from the Northern communist state.

Many analysts plus Arab as well as Western officials have traditionally drawn a comparison between the approach used by North Korea to build its nuclear capabilities and the one adopted now by Iran. Both have embraced a strategy of clandestine nuclear activities and exploiting the loopholes in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) system to advance the nuclear programs. North Korea has been the main supplier of ballistic missiles technology to Iran, which today builds medium-range missiles. Both countries are under some form of international sanctions and isolation. However, Iran, an Islamic Republic, has much more resources than its North Korean ally, especially oil and gas, which has made it more immune than Pyongyang to effective international isolation or sanctions. And both authoritarian regimes share strong animosity to the United States and the West.

[American Constitutionalist]

As if we needed more problems, no, wait, everyone seems to have forgotten about Iran.
Very dangerous times we live in.