By: Daniel Nardini

The detonation of a miniature nuclear weapon by the North Korean government on February 12th, may be the least of America’s worries about North Korea. North Korea’s nuclear program is only one part of an arsenal of weapons that country is building to directly hit the United States. We must remember that North Korea also has chemical and biological weapons. But actual weapons are not the only thing in its arsenal. What many Americans do not realize is that North Korea is the second largest producer of opium in the world (Afghanistan is the first, but unlike Afghanistan, the North Korean government is in control of the opium poppies planted and cultivated). Likewise, North Korea is one of the greatest producers of counterfeit currency—especially U.S. currency.

North Korea exports its weaponry to many countries, especially rogue regimes like Syria, Zimbabwe, Iran, and the Sudan. About the only three things it does export “legally” are ginseng, raw minerals and metals, and books by its former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kin Jong-il. The United Nations has slapped North Korea with so many sanctions that few nations are under as many trade embargoes as North Korea. Yet this has not stopped North Korea from doing the things it does. It will not deter them from making itself a threat against the United States and neighboring Asian states. Even now, the North Korean government is still developing an intercontinental ballistic missile to directly hit the United States. This way the North Korean government can blackmail the United States in receiving concessions.

Yet another threat many Americans do not take into consideration is the fact that North Korea has agents in this country who may at this very moment be conducting acts of espionage, surveillance and possibly sabotage. Like so many rogue states, North Korea could just as easily be trying to steal American military and technology secrets for its own benefit. In war time, could such a network of North Korean agents commit terrorist acts against the United States? This is a question we have to ask. We might also want to ask this question of this possibility in peace time. I know for a fact that there are pro-North Korea groups in the United States who believe in North Korea’s political system and follow that country’s political ideology. Of course, their political beliefs are protected by the U.S. Constitution. However, I have to wonder what they might do if war ever comes between the United States and North Korea? The U.S. government seems less worried about North Korea than about Al Qaeda. For my money, I would be far, far more worried about North Korea.