Views expressed in Opinion articles are exclusively the authors’ own and do not represent those of NK News.

North Korean nuclear ambitions threaten the security and stability of the peninsula and the region. The threat stems not only from the possibility of a nuclear strike but from the probability of predictable and preventable facility malfunctions that will destroy the local environment and devastate the nearby populations.

The international community often overlooks this most dangerous aspect of the North Korean nuclear program because of a hyper-vigilant media focus on weapons development.

While North Korean nuclear weapons are without a doubt a