This country is on the verge of World War III.

North Korea tests nuclear weapons in violation of U.N. Security Council resolution.

With recent news reports stating that North Korea has declared war on America, most took it as a joke, seeing that this is a recurring issue. As the days go by, it seems that this is more than just an empty threat. North Korea has very recently begun testing weapons such as ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads on their rockets. Whether they plan to use these weapons against America or their allies, Japan, China, or Syria, is unknown. All skepticism is left up to news reporters. The only word that American news reporters can go on is what South Korean leaders have reported.

Philip Yun, the executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, an organization that aims at eliminating nuclear material, stated that they can not delay their response to North Korea’s actions. “Unless we figure out a way to deal with North Korea and stop their activity at some point in the near future, they’re going to have a relatively sophisticated nuclear arsenal that is capable of hitting the United States and that is a huge problem,” said Yun.

The test was Pyonyang’s, North Korea’s capital, fifth and most powerful nuclear test to date. It marked a stepping stone in North Korea’s plan to further their arsenal in nuclear weapons. “This administration is handing over what’s shaping up to be the number one national security problem for the next administration, whether it’s Clinton or Trump,” said Victor Chu, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The nuclear weapons tested had a blast of ten kilotons, which equals ten thousand tons of TNT. This is close to the nuclear bomb a America dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were fifteen kilotons, equaling to fifteen thousand tons of TNT.

“Every generation has its defining moment that you remember for the rest of your life,” said social studies teacher April Walker to a class of students who discussed the attack of September 11th, 2001. The more the year goes on and the more weapons that North Korea tests, this seems to be looming onto an event as memorable as the September 11th attacks.