North Korea is believed to have tested a nuclear weapon this past weekend and its impact on global diplomacy is palpable.

With bond markets closed yesterday, though, there was no opportunity to see how markets interpreted the risk that North Korea violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

President Bush threatened the impoverished North Korea with harsh economic sanctions, but the real threat lies in North Korea's history of sharing military technology with other countries.

Normally, we'd expect mortgage rates to drop on news of political instability and threats to the U.S. economy, but rates appear to be leaning higher prior to the market open.

Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.