북 단거리 미사일 2발 6일만에 또 발사…북한의 의도는?
Anticipation was building that Pyeongyang and Washington would hold working-level nuclear talks.
But that negotation may not resume soon with North Korea upping military tensions in the region.
What is North Korea attempting to gain from it?
Our Seo Eunkyung turned to experts for some clues.
An expert on inter-Korean affairs points out that even though it appears the introduction of new weapons such as the F-35A stealth fighter jet and the joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S have led North Korea to fire short-range missiles, the primary reasons are to display discontent against Seoul and Washington.
The expert also adds that the second launch today was necessary for North Korea to test the functions of its missiles, and additional launches might be needed to fully verify the missiles' abilities.
"To develop a new weapon, North Korea needs more missile launches to verify the weapons' technical performance. The regime had a five-day interval when it fired short-range missiles in May, which is a similar interval as this time."
Then what impact could the recent missile provocations could have on the on-going nuclear negotiations with the U.S?
Researcher Cho says that North Korea's missile launch would have little impact on Washington.
" General opinion in the U.S. is that the country should keep its sanctions on the regime unless North Korea gives up its nukes. And considering the presidential election is coming up soon, it is unlikely that President Trump will make a compromise over military threats."
As for possibility of the additional missile tests, Cho added that there is a chance that North Korea will launch more missiles within this year, but won't conduct nuclear tests nor an ICBM launch.
Because Kim Jong-un set the deadline for nuclear negotiations as the end of this year, North Korea could use missile launches as a means of putting pressure on Washington and Seoul.
But provocations would not lead to nuclear tests nor ICBM launches because North Korea doesn't want to break from the negotiating table.
An expert in the U.S. shares Cho's analysis.
Daniel L. Davis, a senior fellow from the Defense Priorities research institute in Washington, stated in the New York Times that North Korea's provocation is not meant to threaten others but to get the attention of North Korea’s more powerful neighbors, and unless Washington is willing to allow limited sanctions relief, Kim is likely to continue developing and testing weapons.
SEO Eunkyung, Arirang News.
