Photo/Illutration People look at a copy of the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun reporting on the test-launch of a missile at Jonsung Station of Pyongyang Metro in Pyongyang, North Korea, on March 25. (AP Photo)

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of a new type, which it calls the Hwasong-17, on March 24.

The projectile reached a higher altitude, and traveled a longer distance, than other similar missiles the country had fired in the past. The entire U.S. mainland may lie within the missile’s striking range.

The firing could only be described as a witless act, by which North Korea wrecked what little ties it still had with the United States and drove itself into a tighter corner.

Part of the missile fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, thereby putting the safety of aircraft and vessels at risk.

Such an act should by no means be tolerated, and we strongly call on Pyongyang to stop firing any more missiles. 

The test-firing also constitutes a clear violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader, declared ahead of his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump four years ago--the first time for the leaders of the two countries to meet--that he would refrain from conducting nuclear tests and firing ICBMs, both posing a direct threat to the United States. He has now broken that promise.

A joint statement released by Trump and Kim at the time of the summit mentioned lasting security guarantees to North Korea. Even that provision, however, could be at risk.

Pyongyang has openly said it will continue developing weapons in line with a long-term plan. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the international community is having difficulty dealing with, likely played a part in North Korea’s decision to fire the missile precisely at this moment.

Ukraine went independent in 1991. The country subsequently won a guarantee for its national sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for renouncing all the nuclear weapons it had inherited from the Soviet Union.

Pyongyang must have been watching carefully how, despite all that, Ukraine came under the merciless attack. The situation could lead North Korea to wrongfully believe that its security would not be assured if the country were to back out of its nuclear development program.

That is another reason the international community should rush to settle the Ukrainian situation.

The U.N. Security Council has not been able to take effective measures against Russia. That situation is likely also working in Pyongyang’s favor.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry voted against the recent U.N. General Assembly resolution to denounce Russia, saying the root cause of the invasion of Ukraine “lies in the hegemonic policy of the United States and the West.”

The U.N. Security Council, where Western nations remain at loggerheads with China and Russia, is not likely to be able to respond in a concerted manner to North Korea’s latest missile test.

Pyongyang is likely hoping to side with China and Russia so a “new Cold War”-like picture will become entrenched.

It is, however, probably not in China’s best interest for the North Korean issue to worsen into an additional disturbing factor at a time when the world order has already been shaken by Russia’s reckless act. Beijing, as Pyongyang’s biggest backer, should play a role in reining in North Korea’s moves.

The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has espoused a “practical approach” to North Korea, which is about seeking to denuclearize the nation in stages through dialogue. It has, however, seldom appeared willing to put substantial diplomatic efforts into the Korean Peninsula issue.

The Biden administration should step up its efforts for talks with Pyongyang, while at the same time also working to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Japan and South Korea, which face the threat not just of North Korea’s ICBMs but also its short- and medium-range missiles, should mutually confirm their partnership with the United States and call on the international community for broad-based cooperation on the matter.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 27

Related News