North Korea: a vital threat
The hypothesis of missile launches by North Korea is more and more concrete. The international community brought the alert status to the threshold of “vital threat,” a last statement before declaring the status of war.
This is Pyongyang‘s retaliation against the sanctions approved by the United Nations last February to deter the nuclear escalation of the Korean Republic and as a reprisal for the deployment of forces by the United States. The DPRK allegedly has Musudan missiles of medium range and is already preparing to launch them towards Japan.
The United States is carefully monitoring the situation, and the White House spokesperson, Jay Carney, commented that they wouldn’t be surprised to see North Korea take missile actions, that it has already happened in the past and that the UN Security Council has repeatedly condemned such initiatives as violations of the UN resolutions. Carney marked the North Korean model as “unconstructive rhetoric” and reaffirmed the necessity to persuade the state to abide by its international obligations and to put an end to the provocations that have led to a further isolation of North Korea and impoverishment of its population.
The US is working closely with Russia and China so that the countries may exercise their influence in such a way to dissuade Kim Jong un‘s government from pursuing bellicose actions.
The recommendation to foreigners in South Korea to evacuate the state because of the threat of a nuclear war has also been interpreted as “unhelpful rhetoric that serves only to escalate tensions.”
North Korea is reiterating behaviors that, in the past, haven’t always resulted in war actions; however, the threat to develop nuclear weapons is still there, and it remains consistent.
The UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-moon is still convinced that nobody intends to attack the DPRK and that dialogue and negotiations are the only way to resolve the current crisis. However, he urged the Republic to refrain from taking “any further provocative measures,” such as new nuclear tests, which, according to a non-official news source, news agency Yonhap, the state is apparently finalizing.
The KCNA, the official North Korean news agency, seems to give a different and way more dramatic interpretation of the situation; Pyongyang‘s regime invites the US and South Korea “not to make misjudgments” because “a war may break out tomorrow.” Just by taking a quick look at the KCNA‘s contents, a person can see that the new agency’s propaganda signature is quite clear. It is also clear that, bellicose rhetoric or not, North Korea’s threat is getting closer and closer.