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Pyongyang’s missile tests weaken ASEAN’s hand on Myanmar
The downward spiral of China and the US's relationship, in particular, will lead to an escalatory competition to pip one versus the other, either at the level of ASEAN or the Pacific Island Forum (PIF).
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This picture taken on September 15, 2021 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16 shows a test firing drill of a railway-borne missile regiment.
(AFP/KCNA)
W
ith the exception of few skeptics who do not believe that Chairman Kim Jong-un has what it takes to launch Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Tests (ICBMs) that can travel ever higher with targeted reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, research community are in agreement that North Korea’s nuclear threat is expanding.
But a threat to whom? The answer is a threat to all, including North Korea itself. How does the logic play out?
First and foremost, to the degree the international community does want to rid itself of the specter of nuclear annihilation, then very obviously North Korea provocative actions of lobbing missiles throughout 2022, accompanied by bellicose rhetoric against the United States, South Korea and Japan, will just make things worse.
Second, the nuclear umbrella of the US, based on its nuclear superiority in the Korean Peninsula, leaves no mercy for anyone to attack Japan and South Korea. Thus, by making repeated tauntings, where six missile launches were made in two weeks, North Korea is making the whole world unsafe, especially with its latest Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRCM) test on Oct. 5.
More importantly, the missile flew a distance of about 4,600 kilometers, with an altitude of some 1,000 km and a top speed reaching Mach 17 – meaning 17 times the speed of sound, according to Japanese officials. By way of comparison, the US island territory of Guam is just 3,380 km from North Korea.
Third, North Korea is often seen as the "proxy" of China, to a lesser degree, Russia. Currently, the triangular relations of Russia, China and the US are not good at all to say the least. When North Korea breaks the United Nations sanctions against such launches, this behavior is blamed on China and Russia.
Fourth, at a time when US President Joe Biden has invoked the image of a "nuclear Armageddon" against President Vladimir Putin in Russia, the worst since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 60 years, North Korea’s antics are making any form of world peace impossible. The fact that this is a law that says should Chairman Kim be in an “accident,” then North Korea should seek a preemptive strike first, is galling.
