NORTH Korea said it was seeking military “equilibrium” with the United States as leader Kim Jong-Un vowed to complete Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. North Korea successfully fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan on Friday, responding to a new round of UN sanctions over its sixth nuclear test with its furthest-ever missile flight. Seoul’s Defence Ministry said it probably travelled around 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 770 kilometres.
The UN Security Council condemned Friday’s launch as “highly provocative” and US President Donald Trump scheduled talks with the leaders of Japan and South Korea to address the crisis. The US Pacific Command confirmed Friday’s rocket was an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) and said the launch did not pose a threat to North America or to the US Pacific Territory of Guam, which Pyongyang has threatened with “enveloping fire”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron jointly appealed for talks with North Korea, saying this was the only way to resolve tensions over its nuclear programme. The appeal was directed at the United States and Japan, which have called for pressure to be ramped up through sanctions rather than pinning hopes on talks.
Russia and China, North Korea’s main ally, on Monday backed a US-drafted resolution at the Security Council to impose fresh sanctions on Pyongyang – but they maintain dialogue is key to defuse the crisis. The sanctions imposed on Monday banned the North’s textile trade, stopped new work permits for its labourers, and imposed restrictions on shipments of oil products, among other measures.
Kim’s stated ambition of achieving a military balance with Washington is some way off as it’s too unrealistic for North Korea to reach ‘equilibrium’ in nuclear force with the US. The North has raised global tensions with its rapid progress in weapons technology under Kim, who is regularly pictured by state media overseeing launches and visiting facilities.
All of this is occurring because the world does not care enough about the North Korean people. The aims of one family to perpetuate dynastic politics to ensure that the entire country remains at the whim of an entire family has led to the situation where the North is at today. Because it does not have oil or any major resource, and because it has nuclear weapons as deterrence, the world is unwilling and therefore unable to engage in any meaningful interaction with the North, thereby keeping its people under the wraps of one of the most oppressive regimes of the world.
This situation will not change as long the international community thinks of its leader as a wrong headed man who is ready to unleash his weapons even at the slightest provocation. By continuing to give North Korea space the world is also giving it enough time to create substantial deterrents. In the long run they will think that they can get away with anything – and it can’t be a good thing. Appeasement never worked with any dictatorial regime – and it remains the same today as it did in 1939.
