North Korea Nuclear Test Could Spark Asian Arms Race

The specter of an Asian atomic arms race loomed over the region Monday after communist North Korea shocked the world by announcing it conducted its first-ever nuclear test in a brazen move that fueled global jitters. Officials from Washington to Seoul had warned of a possible arms race even before North Korea said it fulfilled its threat to join the elite club of nuclear powers. South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan had said a test could give Japan a pretext to go nuclear, triggering countermoves by suspicious Asian neighbors in a cascade that upends regional security.