14 October 2006
North Korea nuclear test
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There's no doubt now that North Korea, or the DPRK as it's officially known, is a nuclear-weapon state.
By detonating its nuclear device on Monday of this week, under a mountain in north-Eastern Hamgyong province, Kim Jong Il declared to the world that it will now have to content with a nuclearised North Korea.
The detonation predictably provoked international condemnation...with China, a long time ally of North Korea, a step closer to supporting the UN moves for tougher economic sanction.
China has been a strong ally to North Korea for more than 50 years, providing most of its fuel and food aid. And there's also the 1961 China-Korean Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Co-operation, which obliges China to provide North Korea with military aid in the event of a war.
How will this latest crisis shape the China-Korea relationship, and can North Korea depend on China at the end of the day? And what will happen to talks of a planned reunification between North and South Korea?
Guests
Dr Jo Dong Ho
Director,Research,Planning & Coordination
Korean Development Institute
Seoul
Professor Chung Min Lee
Graduate School of International Studies
Yonsei University, Korea
Story Researcher and Producer
Dai Le
