North Korea has taken a lot of crap from China over the decades.  Now it looks ready to dish it back.  Let's welcome the world's ninth bona fide nuclear power: North Korea!  North Korea's nuclear weapons aren't just a deterrent; they're leverage for North Korea to push away from China and push the United States toward acceptance of North Korea as a legitimate state.  That was just some of the bad news for China on its periphery as headaches pile up in the Himalayas, Myanmar, and Cambodia.