The Jakarta Post

What should we do against an iron-fisted leader of a country who continuously blackmails other countries through its nuclear arms capability because he knows he has very little chance of survival without the deadly weapons?

Such a leader will defy any threat even from the world's most powerful man, US President Barack Obama, because his failure to get ransoms from his much richer neighbors will cost him his power; millions of people have been starving for years and the leader cannot find other ways to feed his people and retain his power grip on the country. And what will happen if nuclear arms fall into the hands of irresponsible leaders or criminals?

The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea one day after it conducted a second nuclear test Monday. China, its strongest ally, endorsed the condemnation. The United States, Japan and South Korea were outraged and issued harsh statements. But it means nothing to North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il who is more worried about his health, his successor, the military loyalty to him and the patience limit of the starving North Koreans.

Based on his own experience, Kim knows very well that it is easy to extort the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries every time he shows off the progress of North Korea's nuclear weapons. And the ransom he receives is enough to feed the people for a certain period of time and to please his military generals, and after that he will repeat his traditional recipe. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak drastically shifted from his predecessors' soft approach against the impoverished North, but to no avail. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso also failed, despite his much tougher stance against the secretive North Korean leader. Expecting internal revolt against Kim is also useless because so far he is in full control of the country.

The Monday's nuclear test, which was much more powerful than the previous test in 2006, unfortunately could inspire people - dictators, ambitious military generals or bandits - to follow Kim's steps. Nuclear thefts are not impossible, especially in war-torn countries, and stealing nuclear technology or weapons is much cheaper and faster for a country than developing the technology itself.

It is time for all nuclear-capable states to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Although there is no guarantee that the treaty will make it any more difficult for states to develop nuclear arms, at least the world would have created a strong legal foundation for the complete ban of nuclear weapons.

What can Indonesia contribute to help eliminate the nuclear threat? It is interesting that The New York Times in its editorial on Monday stated that the CTBT has never come into force because 'the United States and either of the other nuclear-capable states whose participation is required - China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran, Israel and Egypt - have not ratified it'. The Indonesian government needs to clarify its position on this treaty.

Back to North Korea, to be honest we do not know how long it can use the nuclear tactic because it should know that its more advanced neighbors will not let themselves be 'abducted eternally' by the nuclear-power extorter.