Is North Korea putting nuclear-tipped
bargaining chip on table
Send a link to a friend
[April 06, 2017]
By James Pearson and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) - As the leaders of China
and the United States sit down for a summit on Thursday, North Korea has
made sure it also has something on the negotiating table: A
nuclear-tipped bargaining chip.
North Korea launched a projectile on Wednesday, which U.S. officials
said appeared to be a liquid-fueled, extended-range Scud missile that
only traveled a fraction of its range before spinning out of control and
crashing into the sea.
The launch was North Korea's latest in a long series of missile and
nuclear tests that have accelerated in their variation and intensity
over the last two years.
And now, experts agree, North Korea is closing in on the ability to hit
the United States with a missile, a goal that for decades has been the
subject of Pyongyang's vivid propaganda posters.
"They've been able to put a nuke on a missile for a while now," said
Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of
International Studies.
"The stated purpose of the last test was to validate the nuclear weapon
design that would arm all of North Korea's missiles," Lewis said of
North Korea's September 2016 nuclear test - its fifth and largest to
date.

Since then, North Korea has further ramped up its tests and rhetoric,
emphasizing a consistent message: To create a nuclear device small
enough to mount on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and
fire it at the United States.
"If we push the button, the bombs will be fired and reduce the U.S. to
ashes," an editorial in the ruling Workers' Party newspaper the Rodong
Sinmun said on Wednesday.
North Korea now has the strength to "wipe out" the United States "in a
moment" with an H-bomb, the editorial said.
"This is again our warning".
BARGAINING CHIP
From last year, North Korea took the rare step of publicizing images of
its missile equipment tests, convincing analysts that Pyongyang's banned
program was further along toward successfully testing an
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) than first thought.
"The first few tests might fail, but that's not good news because
they'll learn," said Lewis. "How long it takes to make it work is
anyone's guess. Maybe a couple of years, maybe the first time".
North Korea has been pursuing its nuclear and missile programs at an
unprecedented pace since last year, with an aim to expand its deterrence
against Washington and diversify its line-up of nuclear-equipped
missiles, another expert said.
[to top of second column] |

A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of
North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File
Photo

"They have been doing so many test launches last year and this year
to develop systems to transport nuclear warheads," said Kim
Dong-yub, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute of Far
Eastern Studies in Seoul.
"The whole thing is about expanding their deterrence and continuing
to keep upgrading their missiles to deliver nuclear warheads," said
Kim.
It was not clear if Wednesday's launch was deliberately timed to
coincide with Thursday's summit between China's President Xi Jinping
and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, where North Korea is
expected to be a prime topic of discussions.
Some experts think North Korea has tried to make sure the two world
leaders are aware Pyongyang has a bargaining chip in any forthcoming
moves to clam down on its weapons programs.
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior research fellow at Sejong Institute
outside Seoul, said that could come in the form of another nuclear
or ICBM test after the summit. Perhaps first with a low-level show
of force - enough not to upset China - followed by a period of
intensified weapons testing.
"Then, next month when a new (South Korean) government gets under
way, North Korea is expected to try to turn the situation around
into a phase of appeasement and, use its moratorium of nuclear and
ballistic missile tests to find middle ground with South Korea and
the United States," Cheong said.

This year, North Korea officials, including young leader Kim Jong
Un, have repeatedly indicated an ICBM test, or something similar,
could be coming, possibly as soon as April 15, the 105th birthday of
North Korea's founding president and celebrated annually as "the Day
of the Sun".
(Editing by Bill Tarrant)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |