By Aaron Miller-
North Korea has failed to provoke or shake President Trump and the rest of the world by launching its most potent missile test to date in another show of defiance to the international community heavily opposed to his actions.
The test which is the highest and longest it has ever launched moves the crisis posed by North Korean leader, King Jung-Un , a step deeper than its previous state.
U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis reacted to the test by saying North Korea is continuing to ” weapons that can threaten everywhere in the world.” He added that North Korea is endangering world peace, regional peace and “certainly the United States.”
A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson added the international community must send a unified message to North Korea about ending its program to develop weapons of mass destruction. President Donald Trump has spoken with Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, and Moon Jae-in, the South Korean President. All three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to handle the North Korean threat.
“It’s a situation that we will handle,” Mr Trump told reporters. Mr Trump, was briefed on the missile while in flight, but the U.S president said it did not change his administration’s approach to North Korea, which has included new curbs to hurt trade between China and North Korea in the world’s understanding of what’s happening in the “hermit kingdom.” The president’s measured response is different to his usual impulsive rhetoric; a likely sign that he is heeding wise advise not to escalate matters with a brash response. It can also be seen a calm way of refraining from a response that could fuel the propaganda North Korea would love as they continue to aim to be a destructive force in nuclear terms.
The launched missile reached an altitude of an estimated 4,475km (2,780 miles) and flew 950 km (590 miles) during its 53 minute flight, according to North Korea
“After watching the successful launch of the new type ICBM Hwasong-15, Kim Jong-un declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power,” a statement read by a North Korean television presenter said.
“We are within a year away from North Korea completing its nuclear program,” said Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA North Korea analyst, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
When the Trump administration declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, the US also imposed new sanctions on North Korean shipping firms and Chinese trading companies dealing with the North.
URGE
The U.S , South Korea, and other countries have urged North Korea to cease its nuclear development plans, but a number of experts are hugely pessimistic that any regression in North Korea’s developmental programme will occur. Some believe the millions of North Korean deaths in the second world war following a tenacious American bombing campaign lies at the heart of the present crisis. The North Korean regime are either bent on revenge or fearful of a repeat that they are equipping themselves for such a day.
If these concerns hold any ounce of credibility, their basis loses validation when the facts are closely scrutinized. The world has evolved exponentially since the decades of cleansing that underlined both world wars. Global progression in political thinking has led to international treaties that called for nuclear disarmament of all world powers with the common objective of world peace. The provocation from North Korea is an ominous sign of an impending danger to world peace because there is only so much restraint President Trump and the rest of the world can exercise. The call for dialogue has always appeared doomed from the start, especially in view of the unpredictable rhetoric from President Trump whose fingers are ever so quick to undermine the efforts of those trying to resolve the potentially most dangerous crisis faced by the world in modern times. North Korean’s president himself is no easy leader to deal with. His ignorance and repulsive arrogance has always been a hindrance to progressive talks on any sort of resolution to the current crisis.