The decision of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to withdraw from the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and to restart its nuclear program frozen under the 1994 Agreed Framework with the United States has sparked international concerns of nuclear arms proliferation and regional concerns of an imminent crisis. This paper outlines the key...

The North Korean decision to restart its nuclear program and to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty could potentially destabilise the North East Asian region. The crisis re-emphasises the importance of the region to Australian trade and security interests.