A UW expert on Asian affairs says North Korea is taking the world down the road of nuclear proliferation.
UW Political Scientist Ed Friedman says unless the US changes it's position on talking directly with North Korea, it will be up to China and South Korea to defuse the ticking nuclear bomb because the North Korean economy is dependent on those two countries. They could have some leverage.
But if they can't work out a nuke test moratorium, then Friedman believes we're headed down the road of a nuclear arms race in the region.
While Japan says they don't want a nuclear weapon, Friedman speculates they will if North Korea's weapons tests get bigger and better.
Friedman says in order for the US to be effective with North Korea we would have to negotiate with them and give them some sort of assurance it won't be attacked like the US did in Iraq.