North Korea allegedly launched two missiles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan last week, the third such launch since August and the first since talks between the US and North Korea ended without an agreement on October 5 in Sweden.
A commentary published on China.com.cn, a State-run news site, discussed what the latest launches mean and what might happen next.
“The apparent aggressiveness underscores how frustrated North Korea is” as denuclearization talks with the US stall, said the author, Qin Lizhi, an international relations lecturer at Dalian University of Foreign Languages, adding that the launches are Pyongyang’s way of telling Washington it is getting unhappy and wants to move things along.
North Korea has tested several missiles this year. It says the missiles are necessary self-defense against threats from the US and its allies.
However, North Korea does not want to close the doors to an easier relationship with the US, Qin said. “The way North Korea sees it, it is its nuclear capacity that made the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump possible,” he said.
Kim has set an end-of-the-year deadline for nuclear talks with Washington and last week’s launches are meant to tell Trump the clock is ticking, Qin said.
North Korea also has a very different vision from the US on how peace will be achieved on the Korean Peninsula. It will not give up its missiles unless the US discontinues what Pyongyang describes as “hostile policies” against it.
Denuclearization, therefore, will not come fast, Qin said. North Korea will only give up its nuclear power when it believes it can ensure its security through means other than nuclear deterrence.
Until then, North Korea will continue building up its nuclear arsenal, Qin said, and as it does so, the window for peace talks to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis will simply continue to grow smaller.
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