North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test

Three years after successfully detonating a nuclear weapon, North Korea once more was able to detonate yet another nuclear device, according to the Associated Press. It was carried out in the northeastern part of the country, where it had performed its first such test, in an underground laboratory. The magnitude of the explosion was reportedly a 9.3 nuclear explosion. At the same time, there are reports that North Korea is also test-launching short-range, ground-to-air missile. These actions have been condemned widely by the international community. The United Nations has led the call for sanctions against the country, which would severely hurt North Korea's economy. This course of events has have shown that North Korea has restarted it's nuclear program, in the hope of manufacturing more nuclear weapons. Even while facing the threat of sanctions from the United Nations, North Korea clearly wants to have more prestige on the international stage then it has been shown in the past. Yet despite these sanctions, North Korea and other nations still keep holding negotiations to end the country's nuclear program, or at least put a hold on it, in exchange for North Korea receiving international aid. These negotiations typically involve North Korea promising to end it's program, only for them to default on the deal once the country has received its aid packages.