After starting off the year with one action after another, North Korea finally settled down to do missile testing, bringing back the concern— eventually, North Korea will be able to compete within the international nuclear community.
For three days, North Korea fired projectiles into the sea, calling these actions normal military exercises. Unlike the nuclear detonation in February and the movement of missiles from one coast to another in April, these exercises are considered harmless, even though the powers in concern are keeping an eye on North Korea.
North Korea has made a point to say these tests are a test of their recently developed technologies. The country, known for its hateful rhetoric against South Korea and its stronger ally, the U.S, is testing, not trying or wanting to provoke South Korea and the U.S.
Rather than acts of aggression, these missile launches are being considered experimentation with new technology. North Korea has some support when it comes to the reaction of the testing of what appears to be short range missiles into the ocean. Some have gone as far as stating if North Korea was another country launching missiles into the ocean, there would be no concern—it would be accepted throughout the international community. Since its North Korea though, the matter hits international news with bigger, stronger countries trying to make an effort to stop a worse-than-third-world-country from developing technology that can aid them.
The real question though, is what kind of missiles have being shot into the ocean by North Korea. South Korea has yet to analyze what North Korea is using, the country stating that North Korea could be shooting recently developed short range missiles or something completely different.
The general consensus is the missiles being fired by North Korea are surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range less than 100 miles. Officials are unsure of what North Korea is testing, but it is possible that North Korea is the process of developing large caliber rockets they are unable to deploy yet.
But for now, the testing of short range missiles is not as concerning as the projectiles being launched in March or the underground testing done in February.
South Korea has made attempts to make dialogue with North Korea, but the North Korean government has not allowed any progress.
While South Korea struggles to get North Korea to speak to them, North Korea has made attempts at opening dialogue with China, their ally, in the past month.
When dealing with North Korea, China hopes to remove any nuclear weapons located in the Korean Peninsula quickly.
But, the relationship between China and North Korea is not too stable. Tired of the country’s antics, China has distanced itself from North Korea.
Talks between North Korea, the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have happened before. The last attempt in 2008 though, ended with North Korea walking out.
While testing weaponry and attempting to make strategic political moves, a little attention needs to be focused on the inner workings of the country.
In result to the underground nuclear testing in February, the United Nations had placed sanctions on the country. Aid agencies within North Korea, aiming to feed the children in a country known for its constant food shortages, are unable to get the proper funding they need.
The money the agencies needs goes through North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which is under watch by the U.S. Treasury. Without the funding that would go through the bank, the agencies are finding themselves in tight binds, carrying in cash for their various projects through one country into another. In order to get the money where it needs to go, the European Union has upset the U.S. by ignoring their sanctions for the sake of the agencies.
While North Korea has settled down with its antics and has started testing their technology, a close eye needs to be kept on the country. If no one is paying close enough attention after the fear of all-out war wears off, North Korea can sneak up and take the world by surprise.
