LIKE most exclusive organisations, membership of the ''nuclear club'' has traditionally been reserved for applicants with a good pedigree and has only been offered on the basis that the rules are obeyed. But, as with so many long-standing institutions, theclub is under threat from a new breed of would-be members, who have no respect for tradition.
A growing number of Asian nations are caught up in a spiralling arms race to produce ''the bomb'' and obtain the upper hand over their neighbours and this trend threatens the delicate balance of atomic weapons control.
Nuclear proliferation has become a major concern in Western countries, led by the United States and Britain, who fear renegade regimes or terrorist groups could gain control of ''loose nukes''.
In a shift in policy last December, the Clinton administration made it a top priority to ''search out and destroy'' uncontrolled atomic weapons, launching its Defence Counter-Proliferation Initiative.
As a direct result, the CIA trebled the number of its agents spying on aspiring nuclear states, primarily North Korea and its hardline president, Kim Il-sung.
North Korea is by far the most dangerous of a growing pack of countries that have either successfully developed a bomb, have nuclear weapons programmes or are technically capable of manufacturing atomic devices. It is still unclear if North Korea has developed a weapon or is playing a dangerous game of bluff with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the US and South Korea.