North Korea has backed down on its nuclear arming for a while, but will remain a problem while its leadership is so damaging. Fortunately, in this region, we have China, who will not permit Nth Korea to attack any of its neighbours, as China is trying to improve its image and its trading abillity with the west. China exerts a lot of pressure over North Korea, and I think will keep it in line, but, as I said, it will always be a problem while its leaders follow the policies of those in power at the present.

First you have to define the title "Nuclear War". America is presently fighting a 'Nuclear War' - Nuclear weapons are being used right now in Iraq. No not the Bomb but Depleted Uranium munitions are being used these are by products of the nuclear energy field and are considered (by some) as nuclear weapons. Technically Depleted Uranium (DU) is "nuclear" material is that it takes a nuclear reactor/refinery to create DU. Although the amount of radiation is very low, there is enough to qualify as radioactive. North Korea will not be able to manufacture too many bombs. Only a handful. She may launch those at targets and could spark retaliation, but given the size of N. Korea it would not take too many nuclear bombs to wipe it off the map. IF N. Korea does decide to use the Bomb - most likely the retaliation would be a carpet bombing of the conventional kind. Most likely it would be a swift reaction by China who not only has the ability to use conventional (chemical) bombs but could easily muster 200 million troops to march on and through North Korea and take total control. China does have the Bomb (About 400 of them I believe) She too holds them as insurance against being bombed herself. She is more geared toward marching the most troops into any given battle. By her sheer size 200 million troops, China is not a bear anyone wants to poke. Nations that want the Nuclear bomb do not want it to use it. They want it as insurance policy. Other nations are less likely to open an attack on a Nuclear capable nation than they are with one that can not muster nuclear might. Consider Saddam. Had Saddam had a few nuclear bombs at ready the USA and the Coalition of the Willing would have been less willing to actually trigger war. Out of fear that Saddam would, as a last ditch effort to "strike back" Launch a limited attack on neighbors or even detonate nuclear devices on the battle field. Yes a suicide military tactic but a tactic that would leave a good many nations downwind in radioactive fall out and would have lead to many military people either directly killed or irradiated enough to present us with a nightmare. Nobody wants to trigger international nuclear exchange even of the most limited kind. Kim Jong is not insane, he is practical about the matter he desires to be a nuclear power so as to have another card to play should any nation posture against his nation. If he had actually planned on using the bomb, he would not have had his "public" test. He would have built the bomb in secret then launch it at his chosen enemy without them knowing it was coming. The Fact that he "tested" the bomb and let the world see the test means he was only buying the security of being a known nuclear power. India and Pakistan are good examples - both built and tested their bombs insuring that the other knows that they are nuclear capable to insure that peace remains. The USA and USSR did the exact same thing, granted those two took it to the extremes. Possession of a Nuclear Bomb by a nation is a display of power. That is the point of developing nuclear capabilities. * * * Possession of a Nuclear bomb by a terrorist group will result in its use. Even the Nations in the so called Axis of Evil do not want terrorist groups to have the Bomb. Because they are well aware of Fallout - not just the radioactive fall out from the detonation of such a device, but the fall out in the international political scene which could spark all out nuclear exchange - nuclear Armageddon if you would.

probably not n koreas nukes and rockets are obsolete at best..dangerous to anyone handling them at worst. their rocket program is around 40% and their nukes are about 10% reliable.. this gives a probability of over 80% that they would either fail completely or explode on liftoff...not a happy thought if youre the guy on the trigger