North Korea: Unveiling a new monster missile
U.S. President Donald Trump’s wooing of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was all for nothing, said WanJun Yun in the Dong-a Ilbo (South Korea). To mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim this week presided over a midnight military parade in Pyongyang. The stars of the show were four “monstrous” new intercontinental ballistic missiles, which rolled through the main square on 11-axle vehicles as fireworks lit up the sky. The weapon— which will be one of the world’s largest road-mobile ICBMs if it becomes operational—appears to be an update of an already-tested missile with a range of 8,000 miles. That puts the entire continental U.S. in the crosshairs.
And unlike the earlier model, this 80-foot-long colossus is likely intended to deliver multiple warheads, making it harder for missile defense systems to stop. Given that Kim signaled last year that he was determined to resume nuclear missile tests, violating a pledge he made during multiple summits with Trump, he will likely test this weapon. It’s now obvious that while pretending to negotiate, “the North Korean regime has amplified its nuclearstrike capabilities behind the scenes.”
Yet Kim also offered “a message of appeasement toward South Korea,” said the Kyunghyang Shinmun (South Korea) in an editorial. Addressing “my dear South Korean compatriots,”
Kim promised that his “war deterrent” missiles would “never be abused or used proactively.” This willingness to improve relations may be a result of how poorly North Korea is faring, battered by crippling sanctions, the pandemic, and a series of typhoons and floods that have devastated farms. Kim actually wept at the ceremony as he thanked his people for their efforts. “I am ashamed that I have never been able to repay you properly for your enormous trust,” he said. “My efforts and devotion were not sufficient to bring our people out of difficult livelihoods.”
Those were “crocodile tears,” said the JoongAng Ilbo (South Korea). Unfortunately, South Korean President Moon Jae-in appears willing to be duped, and his officials expressed satisfaction with Kim’s gestures toward inter-Korean cooperation. It’s the same old game: Kim makes overtures while secretly building ever more powerful weapons, just like his father and grandfather before him. If anything, we should take his tears as an acknowledgment that international sanctions are indeed taking a toll—which is exactly why they should be kept in place.
It was telling that Kim didn’t mention the U.S. at all in his speech, said Tomoyuki Tachikawa in Kyodo News Service (Japan). Chinese diplomats say the North Korean dictator is trying not to anger Trump, who he hopes will win a second term and continue the summit-focused diplomacy that has elevated Kim’s international stature. A Joe Biden administration, by contrast, would ratchet up the pressure on Pyongyang and let diplomats take the lead in talks. If Biden wins, expect Kim to “take provocative actions”—including test-launching that new missile.