One thing that you don’t know about North Korea’s persistent nuclear tests is that with every test, the country nears achieving its ultimate nuclear goal. The Kim administration aims at developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that can strike American mainland.
In efforts to meet this goal, North Korea has tested its third missile in three weeks, landing in Japanese waters. This marks the 12th test the North has done this year amidst increased United Nations and United States warnings and sanctions.
The U.S. security personnel reported that the short-range missile flew for 6 minutes before it fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The launch happens barely a week after President Donald Trump’s speech at the G7 summit that the big North Korea problem will be solved.
Japan’s Raection
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quick to respond to the attack, terming it a provocation that will not be tolerated.
“We will never tolerate North Korea’s continued provocations that ignore repeated warnings by the international community,” the PM told reporters.
He added that the G7 arrived at an agreement that the North Korea issue is an international concern and that Japan in collaboration with the U.S. will take concrete action.
The Monday test is the second time the missile test has fallen provocatively in the soils of its neighbors.
It covered a distance of about 450 kilometers after which it landed in the Sea of Japan bordering the Korean peninsula.
Could catalyze conflicts
North Korea nuclear tests have only one goal in mind – gain the power to deliver a nuclear warhead to the US mainland. The country believes that achieving such victory is the only way of guaranteeing its survival as a nation.
The isolated nation is heavily loaded with nuclear and has in the past three weeks test-fired a missile on a weekly basis. This is a trend that many analysts believe is likely to go on.
The North believes in keeping its military stronger so as to protect itself against United States dominance.
Michael Penn, president of the Tokyo-based Shingetsu news agency, explains that these tests appear as though they are the priority for the North Korean regime.
But the United States seems not ready to engage in a conflict with the country, preferring diplomacy as the best alternative. Of course the U.S. have a stronger military compared to that of North Korea, but engaging in such war would likely cause the death of millions.
“The North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers within range of one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, which is the capital of South Korea.”
Japan and South Korea feel threatened by the regime and in case war broke out, both China and Russia would be impacted. The reality of the matter is that such war would be catastrophic and thus the best that the two nations can do is embrace diplomacy.