Dr. Strangelove Visits North Korea, a Web Guide

Over the past two weeks the talk of the international stage has been North Korean president Kim Jong Il and his testing of a nuclear weapon, which made its three neighbors, South Korea, China and Japan nervous and gave the Bush Administration one more headache. Since then, the web has been abuzz with news, viewpoints and factoids about the DPRK. Here is a selection of some of the most interesting items the Internet has to offer on the subject...

NoKo: Building nukes, turning heads

If you're looking for a one-stop shop for all things North Korea, then look no further. CNN.com has a comprehensive page that pulls together the entire DPRK issue.

But is the North Korea nuke turning out to be a weapon of mass distraction? William Arkin thinks so and says as much in the Washington Post.

	• A Nuclear Nightmare Comes True With North Korea claiming a successful nuclear weapons test, its neighbors and the U.S. must figure out how to respond • When Outlaws Get The Bomb Kim Jong Il's crude blast punctuates a scary reality: the law of the jungle now governs the race for nuclear arms • Sanctions Don't Bite on the North Korea Border On Scene: It's business as usual on the Chinese border town of Dandong, which continues to trade briskly with 'those stupid bastards' across the Yalu Viewpoints • Let's Make a Deal... We can't invade. Sanctions won't work. The only option left is to talk • Staring At North Korea The survival of Kim Jong Il's regime depends on cross-border trade. Here's why China is so reluctant to cut it off • North Korea Raises the Stakes Analysis: More tough talk, another provocation. What's behind Pyongyang's threat to test a nuclear weapon? • Postapocalypse Now Pop culture's latest visions of mass destruction feel eerily intimate • Rice's North Korea Sanctions Mission Is No Slam-Dunk Analysis: Sure, China has agreed to block any trade with its neighbor's weapons programs. But its priorities are to engage Pyongyang and restart nuclear diplomacy — not necessarily the same as those of the U.S. Photo Essays • The Most Militarized Border Tension between the two Koreas escalates after the North tests a nuclear weapon. Here's a look at life in the Korean DMZ • Exposing North Korea Daily life in a country caught between the whims of a tyrannical regime and the call of the modern world Web Guide • Dr. Strangelove Visits North Korea A selection of some of the most interesting items on North Korean president Kim Jong Il and his testing of a nuclear weapon

Well, whether it is or not, the United Nations is taking the bomb seriously and has imposed sanctions against them. And as far as Japanes Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is concerned that'll teach 'em

But South Korea disagrees, saying you can attract more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, and scrubbing the Kim government's back with sandpaper is no different than massaging it.

Just to be sure, though, this really was a nuclear test...not a dud and not some big bang to make people squeamish. They wanted to develop a bomb and they have done it. Since then, the North Koreans have been partying like it's 1999 (or maybe 1962).

And this Korea Herald story chronicled a fierce debate among Seoul lawmakers about whether SoKo should support the sanctions or if the action would provoke Kim Jong Il. Because now CNN says they are even reportedly working on a second weapon.

The Nuclear Family Redefined

As is common knowledge, North Korea is just the latest in a long line of nations to develop nucleear technology. Here, the BBC shows exactly who's got the bomb, how many weapons they have, and what their capabilities are of turning the planet into smoldering radioactive ash.

CBS News wants you to know exactly what all this nuclear talk is, so they provide some well-placed interactive features that explain everything

Looking into the crystal blogs

There is at least a percieved threat of nuclear tension between China and NoKo, but that isn't stopping the two from doing business. NKZone has an item on plans to develop the new port of Rajin under a 50-year agreement with the Chinese city of Hunchun.

The Council on Foreign Relations, fortunately is here to provide clarity on a blurry situation. In fact, they say that it's pretty clear that things are unclear.

But Mother Jones, in her very practical way, provides the skepticism that we all should embrace over this North Korea business.

Has anyone actually been to North Korea lately?

Despite all the chatter about the DPRK, it's erratic leaders and the nuclear fraternity they've apparently entered, this is a country skating on thin ice. A special report from the U.S. Institute of Peace reveals that NoKo's people are poor and starving, the resources are desolate and the economy is in shambles.

What's worse, UNICEF says this is a really bad place to be a kid, with diarrhea, respiratory infections and malnutrition being the leading causes of death for small children.

Not to mention human rights in the country are as foreign a concept as ice is to a desert, according to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in Korea.

Lastly and most interestingly, Marcus Noland of the Institute for International Economics testified before Congress in April and told a Subcommittee that the DPRK economic structure is bizarre to say the least and in large part based on black market trading.

Compiled by Madison Gray