Area may feel impact of N. Korea’s test

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By Sheena Dooley | Tuesday, October 10, 2006 6:12 PM CDT | () comments

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A Meteorological Agency staff member points to the seismic wave measured in Japan’s various points that the staff suspects was caused by a North Korean nuclear test.

West Asian countries will feel the effects of North Korea’s apparent nuclear tests more than people in the United States, two Quad-City area college professors said Monday.

North Korea announced Monday that it has conducted its first nuclear test, drawing international ire from various countries that condemned the action. In response, many called for economic and trade sanctions against North Korea.

Depending upon the extent of those sanctions, they could weaken North Korea’s already-fragile economy, potentially causing its collapse. That would send thousands of refugees into surrounding countries and impact the economies of nations such as China, which heavily relies on North Korea for trade, said Jim Winship, a political science professor at Augustana College in Rock Island.

As for the United States and the people living here, those sanctions would have a minimal impact because the country does little trade with North Korea, he said. However, hits to the stock market and the “fear factor” can be felt close to home, said both Winship and Martin Hansen, a sociology professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

“You have a variety of people with different backgrounds and intentions and capabilities with their fingers on the button,” Hansen said. “Everything that happens globally is felt locally now because of the globalization of the economy and the globalization of our decision-making. There are instantaneous repercussions.”

If North Korea’s claims turn out to be true, its development of nuclear weapons has the potential to accelerate the race for still other countries, such as Iran, to arm themselves, furthering the potential for the weapons to be used in anger, Winship said.

“Militarily, the impact is limited,” he said. “Politically, it opens the risk of opening an arms race. The concern is always that a state like North Korea is untrustworthy. There is a fear that the more nations that get the weapons, the more the danger of accidental use or ill-considered use is. Also, there is the concern of them falling into the hands of terrorists.”

Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com.