Since the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, there have been multiple disputes between North and South Korea. The extensive missile programs and of North Korea's nuclear weapons, coupled with its further nuclear ambitions, block the peaceful unification of these two countries. North Korea often threatens to attack South Korea at the slightest provocation. The ongoing conflict between these two nations has intensified in recent decades. Although North Korea has threatened war several times, this self-proclaimed defensive country explains its decision to develop nuclear weapons by arguing that it needs to defend itself. North Korea not only poses problems for its neighbors, but poses a global threat. Even though this third world country contains a lot of poverty, their overly aggressive actions in recent decades have put them on the radars of world powers as they pose a threat to international peace. North Korea's aggressive and provocative actions are significantly precipitating a nuclear World War III. Japan annexed Korea in 1910 when it imposed a brutal regime on the peninsula. After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to divide Korea along the 38th parallel of latitude. The conquest of Korea by the United States and the Soviet Union freed it from thirty-five years of harsh Japanese rule. The north was occupied by the Soviets while the south was occupied by the United States. In 1948 Kim Il Sung became the leader of North Korea and a communist ally of the Soviet Union. When the Korean War began in 1950, North Korean forces invaded the South in an attempt to unify the country. The United States created an international force to help defend South Korea and the fighting continued until… middle of paper… learned weapons against South Korea. (Hosenball, 2010) If this happened, the United States The United States would have no choice but to attack North Korea following its policy of deterrence. This would involve China and Russia along with many of North Korea's other allies, thus provoking a nuclear war. North Korea's development and testing of nuclear weapons coupled with its threats of war against South Korea are triggering a third world war. North Korea's expanding nuclear program is becoming a direct threat to nations around the world. Growing turbulence resulting from the North's nuclear weapons tests is causing unease in many nations. With the slightest provocation, the North would not hesitate to attack and destroy South Korea, resulting in nuclear war. However, there is still time for the United Nations to take action to restore peace to North Korea and abandon its nuclear programs..