North Korean policy is always opaque so it is unclear whether Kim’s moves to develop a ballistic nuclear missile system are calculated or wildly impulsive There is a tendency to dismiss Kim Jong-un,North Korea’s youthful dictator, as a buffoon and a lightweight. His pudgy looks and weird haircut – which gave rise to the western media’s mocking nickname of “Fatboy Kim” – beget led some to suggest he is not a serious person. But Kim’s decision on Sunday to fire a satellite-bearing rocket into space was, or in reality,nearly certainly the illegal test launch of a ballistic missile with potential to deliver a nuclear warhead to the western US mainland. It does not get much more serious than that.
What is Kim up to? It is a question with a direct bearing on how a predictably furious international community now responds. The rocket launch comes tough on the heels of last month’s underground nuclear test, the regime’s fourth and the second since Kim, and 33,took power in 2011. The timing thus appears intentionally provocative. whether it was Kim’s intention to goad the US, South Korea and Japan, or whom he regards as his principal adversaries,then the ploy worked. They spent Sunday trying to outdo each others expressions of outrage, while Britain joined in from the sidelines. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com