North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch is another brazen and provocative act by the reclusive communist state that should not go unpunished. Pyongyang launched an intermediate-range missile yesterday to a high altitude in the direction of Japan before it plunged into the sea about two hours after a similar test failed. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the test a “brazen and irresponsible act’. “The continued pursuit by the DPRK of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles will only undermine its security and fail to improve the lives of its citizens,” Ban’s spokesman said. The US too condemned the action. A White House spokesman said ‘the impact of these provocations will be to strengthen the resolve of the international community that has such serious concerns with North Korea’s behaviour’. A Security Council meeting is likely to discuss the issue after the US and Japan requested a meeting.
There is no doubt that the missile launch will ratchet up tension in a region that is already tense. But despite the condemnations from neighbours and the world powers, North Korea will prove too tough a truant to be disciplined. The impoverished country has been under UN sanctions since 2006. In March, the Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country after a string of provocative nuclear and missile tests. A country that is living in isolation and has scant regard for international laws is unlikely to be disturbed by more sanctions. And that leaves the international community, especially the UN, groping in the dark and with little options to make Kim Jong-un see reason.
The latest tests show that North Korea’s missile programme could be advancing, a fact acknowledged by the US, despite previous doubts that the government in Pyongyang could be exaggerating about its nuclear capabilities. According to a US intelligence official, the last missile flew 250 miles or roughly a third of the way between North Korea and Japan. That’s a dangerous level of success, and the regime could try more until it achieves its targets. Pyongyang started a string of demonstrations of its military might in January with its fourth nuclear test and included the launch of a long-range rocket in February.
Since sanctions have failed to produce the desired results, the UN and the international community will have to devise a new strategy to address North Korean threats. Kim Jong-un is investing heavily in nuclear programmes, which he finds as the best solution to silence his enemies. China, which is Pyongyang’s strongest ally, has been cooperative in addressing Pyongyang’s nuclear threat, but at the same time has been reluctant to antagonize the regime of Kim Jong-un. Beijing needs to take a tougher stance on its neighbour.
North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch is another brazen and provocative act by the reclusive communist state that should not go unpunished. Pyongyang launched an intermediate-range missile yesterday to a high altitude in the direction of Japan before it plunged into the sea about two hours after a similar test failed. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the test a “brazen and irresponsible act’. “The continued pursuit by the DPRK of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles will only undermine its security and fail to improve the lives of its citizens,” Ban’s spokesman said. The US too condemned the action. A White House spokesman said ‘the impact of these provocations will be to strengthen the resolve of the international community that has such serious concerns with North Korea’s behaviour’. A Security Council meeting is likely to discuss the issue after the US and Japan requested a meeting.
There is no doubt that the missile launch will ratchet up tension in a region that is already tense. But despite the condemnations from neighbours and the world powers, North Korea will prove too tough a truant to be disciplined. The impoverished country has been under UN sanctions since 2006. In March, the Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country after a string of provocative nuclear and missile tests. A country that is living in isolation and has scant regard for international laws is unlikely to be disturbed by more sanctions. And that leaves the international community, especially the UN, groping in the dark and with little options to make Kim Jong-un see reason.
The latest tests show that North Korea’s missile programme could be advancing, a fact acknowledged by the US, despite previous doubts that the government in Pyongyang could be exaggerating about its nuclear capabilities. According to a US intelligence official, the last missile flew 250 miles or roughly a third of the way between North Korea and Japan. That’s a dangerous level of success, and the regime could try more until it achieves its targets. Pyongyang started a string of demonstrations of its military might in January with its fourth nuclear test and included the launch of a long-range rocket in February.
Since sanctions have failed to produce the desired results, the UN and the international community will have to devise a new strategy to address North Korean threats. Kim Jong-un is investing heavily in nuclear programmes, which he finds as the best solution to silence his enemies. China, which is Pyongyang’s strongest ally, has been cooperative in addressing Pyongyang’s nuclear threat, but at the same time has been reluctant to antagonize the regime of Kim Jong-un. Beijing needs to take a tougher stance on its neighbour.
