North Korea’s H-Bomb test: What it means and what can the UN do?

North Korea kicks off 2016 with another provocative test of it’s nation’s nuclear abilities after supposedly testing a hydrogen bomb. A hydrogen bomb is bigger than an atomic bomb (which the world knew North Korea had already developed) and is achieved by nuclear fusion rather than fission and has a much more devastating effect.

Really, North Korea’s supposed test of a hydrogen bomb is the latest in a series of provocations that stretch back decades that the North attributes to self-defence against South Korea and the West (in particular the U.S.) but this may be one of the most serious and dangerous provocations yet. A hydrogen bomb is one of the most devastating nuclear weapons possible and it carries with it a dangerous prospect of a nuclear armed North Korea.

The North has never been known for being particualrly co-operative with the international community which resulted in the U.S. imposing sanctions against the dictatorship state in December 1950, when the United States initiated economic sanctions against the DPRK under the Trading with the Enemy Act

However, as the risk of a fully nuclear armed North Korea comes on the verge of reality the international community must decide how to deal with the increasingly provocative DPRK. China, Russia and the United States, together condemned the test as a “clear violation of (past) resolutions … and of the nonproliferation regime.”

The anger and danger were felt most in South Korea, which was split from the North seven decades ago.

“This is clearly a provocation and threatening the lives of people and safety,” South Korean President Park said. “We have been continuously warning that (North Korea) will pay a price for conducting a nuclear test.”

However, economic sanctions aside (which seem to harm the people of North Korea even further) and public condemnation, there is very little the UN can do to despose the North Korean dictatorship without the use of force which it’s clear North Korea wouldn’t take lying down and would escalate into full out war. Dealing with North Korea is a convoluted problem for the international community and up to now it seems they’re methods have done little to deter the dictatorship state, rather it has become increasingly provocative.

China’s stock market suffers further turmoil

China’s 2016 new year hasn’t got off to the best start as China’s stock market suffered from a 7% fell in the country’s main index. This news comes after a lot of speculation in the latter end of 2015 that the Chinese economy was facing a slowdown after its unprecedented near 40 years of huge growth

However, China’s growth has been slowing down in recent quarters and this has resulted in a loss of confidence in the Chinese economy which in turn resulted in turmoil on the Chinese stock market because, after all, confidence is the key to stock market trading.

The Chinese government responded by suspending trading and devaluing the Yuen in the hopes of making Chinese exports more attractive. This is because a devaluation of a country’s currency makes its exports more internationally competitive as their exports can be imported more cheaply from other nations which should result in an increase in aggregate demand in China’s economy which should help boost growth.

What does this mean for other countries? Well Asian and European stock markets fell and even Americas Dow Jones index suffered a 2.3% fall. This happens because of how interconnected the world economy has become in our modern age as a result of globalisation which results from increased trade and co-operation between nations.

Therefore, a slump in one country’s economy will cause effects on another country’s economy. This effect is further heightened when it’s a major economy like China’s (currently the world’s 2nd biggest economy after the U.S.) will have negative effects on other economies across the world. With the way things have been looking for China recently, it’s likely that growth will continue to slow as China attempts to switch to a more balanced economy via encouraging more domestic consumption to reduce reliance on manufacturing. However, as things look China’s slowdown is just getting started and this could have fairly disastrous effects on other countries across the world, increasing the UK’s.