North Korea said yesterday it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that proved its ability to strike America’s mainland, drawing a sharp
North Korea said yesterday it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that proved its ability to strike America’s mainland, drawing a sharp warning from US President Donald Trump and a rebuke from China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally supervised the midnight launch of the missile last Friday night and said it was a „stern warning“ for the US that it would not be safe from destruction if it tries to attack, the North’s official KCNA news agency said.
North Korea’s state TV broadcast pictures of the launch, showing the missile lifting off in a fiery blast in darkness and Kim cheering with military aides.
„The test-fire reconfirmed the reliability of the ICBM system, demonstrated the capability of making a surprise launch of the ICBM in any region and place any time, and clearly proved that the whole US mainland is in the firing range of the DPRK [North Korea] missiles, “ KCNA said.
The launch comes less than a month after the North conducted its first ICBM test in defiance of years of efforts led by the US, South Korea and Japan to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons ambitions.
„By threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people, “ Trump said in a statement. „The US will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region.“
China, the North’s main ally, said it opposed North Korea’s „launch activities that run counter to Security Council resolutions and the common wishes of the international community“.
A foreign ministry statement added: „At the same time, China hopes all parties act with caution, to prevent tensions from continuing to escalate, to jointly protect regional peace and stability.“
But it seems that for all its bluster and over-the-top propaganda, North Korea often does just what it says it will do when it comes to its weapons development.
So it goes with its lightning-quick push to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile. The clear message is: Get used to this – it’s the new normal.
But what does that mean?
From the West’s point of view, it portends more and scarier missile and nuclear tests, each one more powerful than the last; a dogged determination by the North to ignore, as it has for decades, financial sanctions and other outside pressure, including a slightly more forceful clampdown from its biggest enabler, China; and an increasing likelihood that a determined, unchecked North Korea will soon turn its rhetoric about being capable of nuking America’s heartland into a reality.
All this is meant to force the US to accept terms that Pyongyang favours: a formal end to the Korean War that would remove US forces from the Korean Peninsula, weaken ties between Seoul and Washington, and make it much more likely that the North’s dream of a Korea united under its rule comes true.
Outsiders have long dismissed or ignored North Korea’s atomic boasts and propaganda, even as they’ve failed through sanctions, threats and isolation to hinder the North’s progress. It remains to be seen whether an effort led by a Trump administration distracted by political infighting can rise to the most serious challenge yet in what has been a decades-long nuclear standoff.
To see exactly what North Korea is aiming for, just read its propaganda.
The North promised a stream of missile „gift packages“ for the US after its first ICBM test on July 4. Then on Saturday, hours after its second test of the Hwasong-14, Kim Jong-un, was quoted as saying that „the US trumpeting about war and extreme sanctions and threat against the (North) only emboldens the latter and offers a better excuse for its access to nukes.“
Friday’s test „is meant to send a grave warning to the US“, Kim said, and „make the policy-makers of the U. S. properly understand that the US, an aggression-minded state, would not go scot-free if it dares provoke the North“.
That does not mean North Korea is planning to attack the US with a nuclear missile. The country’s leadership values its survival above everything else, including the welfare of its people. North Korea’s huge artillery and missile armament along the North-South border could do serious damage to Seoul, but such an attack would spell the end of Pyongyang because of Washington’s massive weapons advantage.
Nor is the North quite there militarily. It must still prove that its ICBMs can navigate the multitude of technical hurdles needed to accurately strike a faraway target.
Each new test, however, makes that more likely.
Having a working „nuclear strategic force“ would also allow the North to introduce doubt into the US-South Korea alliance. If fighting broke out between the rival Koreas, the argument goes, would Washington really rush in knowing that Pyongyang could hit the US heartland with its nukes?
The latest test also does something that North Korea strives for in every word of its propaganda: It bolsters the dignity of the proud, authoritarian state, which has long seen itself as surrounded by hostile nations bent on its destruction. How many Third World US enemies, after all, have built ICBM programs?
The message is as much for the elite in Pyongyang as for the North’s enemies, intended to solidify support for a leader who, despite massive external pressure, can stand up to the superpowers.
Unless Seoul, Washington and their partners can find a way to stop the North, the near future looks pretty clear.
More tests. More instability. More pressure to pursue indigenous nuclear programs among North Korea’s other presumed targets, Seoul and Tokyo, as they lose faith in the US „nuclear umbrella.
