The Bangkok Post (September 14)
“The North Korean ‘crisis’ of recent months is largely an invented one.” Little has changed. “The probability that North Korea would fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the United States was” and remains, “essentially zero.” Given “the undeniable reality of mutual deterrence, the North Korean ‘crisis’ of 2017 can most accurately be seen as a media puppet show put on by Chairman Kim and President Trump for their own public relations purposes. Nonetheless, it’s a dangerous play.”
Tags: Crisis, Dangerous, Invented, Kim, Media puppet, Missile, Mutual deterrence, North Korea, Nuclear, Trump, U.S., Undeniable
Time (August 31)
“More missile tests, more bomber flyovers and three angry armies facing each other across the world’s most heavily armed border raises the possibility that a miscalculation could lead to real fighting.”
Chicago Tribune (September 9)
“The North’s boast of a technologically game-changing nuclear test defies both tough international sanctions and long-standing diplomatic pressure to curb its nuclear ambitions. It will raise serious worries in many world capitals that Pyongyang has moved another step closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland.”
Tags: Diplomatic pressure, Game changing, Missile, North Korea, Nuclear test, Pyongyang, Sanctions, Technology, U.S.
The Economist (December 15)
“Thankfully, North Korea is still a long way from putting nuclear warheads on a missile. It has between six and 12 nuclear devices, but they may not be small enough to put on a rocket. The technology relies on liquid fuel, which makes preparations for a launch both more hazardous and easier to spot than solid fuel. Above all, shooting a rocket up is one thing; mastering the re-entry technology that a military ballistic missile requires is quite another.”
Tags: Missile, North Korea, Nuclear warheads, Re-entry, Technology
Wall Street Journal (December 13)
“The North Korean nuclear threat to U.S. security is no longer theoretical, even if it will still take time for Pyongyang to build a warhead small enough to fit on its new missile. The only way to prevent a Korean nuclear threat to American territory is by working toward regime change, not another short-lived deal with the North.”
Tags: Missile, North Korea, Regime change, Security, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (April 23)
Delhi is smart not to “trust” Beijing or simply “rely” on Washington. “India’s successful test of an Agni-V long-range, nuclear-capable missile shows the shrewdness of the world’s largest democracy. Delhi has looked past smokescreens from Beijing and Washington to judge hard realities.”
Wall Street Journal (March 21)
“The pace of world events keeps speeding up, and that includes the rapidity with which North Korean dictators break their promises.” North Korea has announced plans for a missile launch. This is less than three weeks since reaching a food aid agreement with the U.S. “The only message the North’s dynastic junta will understand is if the West now cuts off the food aid. Even better if the U.S.—or preferably, Japan—blows the missile out of the sky.”
“The pace of world events keeps speeding up, and that includes the rapidity with which North Korean dictators break their promises.” North Korea has announced plans for a missile launch. This is less than three weeks since reaching a food aid agreement with the U.S. “The only message the North’s dynastic junta will understand is if the West now cuts off the food aid. Even better if the U.S.—or preferably, Japan—blows the missile out of the sky.”
Tags: Food aid, Japan, Missile, North Korea, U.S.
