North Korea

The same is likely to happen to North Korea as the country is facing total economic catastrophe on a far greater scale than the Soviet Union ever faced. The Soviet Union was at least rich in natural resources and it was fairly industrialised to make a comeback after the disintegration of its vast empire. North Korea has no natural resources of any value. It is heavily dependent on China for its survival. But China is also angry at its nuclear pretensions. And China itself is concerned that collapse of North Korea might trigger mass exodus of North Korean refugees to China. North Korea is also suffering from food shortages and without international help, its people face starvation on a massive scale. As such, North Korea's entry into the atomic club might not save it from total collapse.

People of North Korea are the worst victims of the caprice of its leaders. So they must not be punished for the crime of their tormentors. Although the international community should impose a military embargo on North Korea which must not be allowed to import and export any military hardware, but it should continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people of North Korea. And the world should make preparations for helping the people if the regime collapses abruptly.