Military power of Pakistan & North Korea

Pakistan is one of several nations that are not the part of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Yet, the Pakistani government managed to acquire nuclear warheads, or at least it is believed so. The entire pursuit for nuclear power began at the beginning of 1970s. It was back then, when Western Powers heard about Pakistan efforts of developing nuclear weapons. At the beginning the government established first nuclear power plant. It was located near Karachi. Noteworthy is the fact that it was possible due to the help of Western nations, which provided Pakistan with necessary equipment and materials. Later on, the president of Pakistan said that the main goal of Pakistan is to construct nuclear weapons. It was a response to India’s claim that they are capable of building nuclear weapons.

Although throughout the 1970s and at the beginning of 1980s there were little facts regarding Pakistan’ nuclear capabilities, there were rumours that from the mid-1980s, Pakistan already had a few warheads. However, it was only in 1998 that Pakistan decided to conduct their first nuclear tests. There were 6 tests and they were the response to 5 tests that India conducted several weeks before Pakistan.

Although at the beginning North Korea joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, they withdrew from it on January 2003. It was a consequence of the United States accusation. The USA government claimed that North Korea was unofficially funding a program of uranium enrichment. Because of that, they cancelled the 1994 Agreed Framework treaty and cut off the energy assistance. Two years after withdrawing, the officials from North Korea claimed that they own operational nuclear arsenal. In spite of North Koreans assurances, the United States did not believe that North Korea really posses such weapons. As a result, the government of North Korea decided to conduct tests.

There were three tests that North Korea initially conducted. The first one, with the yield of less than a kiloton, took place in 2006. However, to show that this was in fact a nuclear detonation, North Koreans conducted second and third tests, respectable in 2009 and 2013. The maximum power of the blast of the aforementioned tests can be estimated to be up to 40 kilotons. However, a lot of sources claim that yield did not surpass 10-15 kilotons. Noteworthy is also the fact that in 2016, North Korea announced that they have conducted their first hydrogen-bomb test.

16-23 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age 18; the Pakistani Air Force and Pakistani Navy have inducted their first female pilots and sailors; the Pakistan Air Force recruits aviation technicians at age 15; service obligation (Navy) 10-18 years; retirement required after 18-30 years service or age 40-52.

18 is presumed to be the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; 16-17 is the presumed legal minimum age for voluntary service.