The successful nuclear test conducted by North Korea, which involved the explosion of a uranium-based atomic bomb, has given rise to deep concern in Israel.

The test is seen primarily as a North Korean exercise in sales promotion to Iran and other potential customers in the Middle East who may be interested in purchasing nuclear weapons. It is feared that North Korea, which for years has been providing various countries in the Middle East with missile technology, is liable to become a supplier of nuclear technology and weapons to the region, as well. So far, it is not clear to what extent Iran was involved in the test. In any event, another nuclear test may be expected in the near future.

The repercussions of the recent nuclear test conducted by North Korea have been overshadowed by the spy stories preoccupying the Israeli public recently. However, officials who are closely watching the global diffusion of nuclear technology see the North Korean test as an alarming red flag. Following two less-successful tests involving the explosion of a plutonium-based nuclear device, in which the plutonium was produced from the graphite nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, North Korea has now succeeded in exploding a uranium-based nuclear device, using uranium enriched in a nuclear plant exposed just over a year ago. It is suspected in Israel that Iran is seeking to acquire similar capabilities and build a bomb of the same kind, using its nuclear enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow.

And although the nuclear explosion in the recent test was on a rather limited scale (of less than half the magnitude of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima), the relatively small nuclear facility under discussion constitutes a significant step toward a North Korean capability to produce a nuclear warhead designed for mounting on a ballistic missile. As was the case in previous nuclear tests conducted by North Korea, Iranian experts were reportedly present at the test site in P'ihyŏn-ri. Seismographic measurements showed that, unlike in the two previous tests, the nuclear device functioned efficiently and its explosive yield fully met expectations.