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WORLD NEWS Thursday 1 June 2017

A new balance of terror: Why North Korea clings to its nukes

By ERIC TALMADGE clear weapons specialists. ticing how to take them attack from the U.S., it that Kim Jong Un has a real
Associated Press Analyst Jeffrey Lewis and out first. launches a pre-emptive nuclear arsenal and isn’t
PYONGYANG, North Ko- his colleagues at the Cen- The Cold War concept of nuclear strike on the shy about using it.
rea (AP) — Early one win- ter for Nonproliferation “mutually assured destruc- South Korean port of Would Trump react with a
ter morning, North Korean Studies in Monterey, Cali- tion” works when each side Busan and tells the Unit- nuclear attack on North
leader Kim Jong Un stood fornia, quickly realized the is convinced neither would ed States that if there is Korea?
at an observation post — War breaks out on the
overlooking a valley of rice Korean Peninsula. North
paddies near the Chinese Korea launches an ICBM
border. Minutes later, four that appears to be com-
projectiles plunged into ing down short, well west
the sea off the Japanese of California. But on the
coast.North Korea had just way down it bursts in a
run its first simulation of a nuclear explosion, possibly
nuclear attack on a U.S. causing some damage to
military base. U.S. territory. Pyongyang
North Korea, which is test- then threatens more seri-
ing ballistic missiles faster ous damage to the Unit-
than ever, is rapidly be- ed States if there is any
coming a better equipped
and more formidable ad- nuclear retaliation or U.S.
versary. Some experts be- intervention in the conflict,
lieve it might be able to raising the risk of millions of
build missiles advanced people dead.
enough to reach the Unit- “With the weight of history
ed States in two to three on his shoulders, how would
years. a U.S. president respond?”
And that poses a game- Bennett asks. “How should
changing problem for the he respond?”
U.S., which for its part is also On April 15, Kim Jong Un
escalating, successfully In this March 6, 2017, photo distributed by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, watched military units from
shooting down a target center, smiles at an observation post to watch the launching of Scud missiles in Tongchang-ri in his million-man armed forc-
ICBM launched from a Pa- North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The ruling party’s newspaper stated it was not a test to see es goose-step by, and then
cific island with a Califor- if the missiles would work but rather a “drill” to train the troops who will “strike the bases of the U.S. applauded at the most
nia-based interceptor mis- imperialist aggressor forces in Japan in a contingency.” Independent journalists were not given varied array of missiles
access to cover the event depicted in this photo.
sile on Tuesday. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) and transport vehicles the
If North Korea launches a North has ever displayed.
pre-emptive nuclear strike Scuds were on a trajec- survive. North Korea isn’t any nuclear retaliation, it The message of this year’s
on an American military tory that, with a southerly likely to reach that stale- will fire nuclear weapons at military parade was clear.
base in Asia, would the U.S. tweak, would have sent mate level. If it succeeds U.S. cities. North Korea is, or is nearly,
recoil and retreat? Would them raining onto Marine in building nuclear-tipped Would President Donald able to strike pre-emptively
it strike back, and risk losing Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, ICBMs that can reach the Trump, or whoever suc- against a regional target. It
Washington in a second on the southern tip of Ja- U.S. mainland, the dynam- ceeds him, risk losing Los is preparing to withstand a
wave of attacks? pan’s main island. ic could be much more Angeles, or Chicago, to retaliatory attack if it does,
In the March launch, North Before the simulation, U.S. volatile. defend America’s allies? and it is building the arse-
Korea sent four Scuds into and South Korean forces Bruce Bennett, a North Ko- — North Korea tries anoth-
the ocean 300 to 350 kilo- were conducting joint rea expert and defense er ballistic missile launch nal it needs to then launch
meters (185 to 220 miles) military drills involving F-35 analyst with the RAND Cor- like the one on March 6. a second wave of strikes,
off Japan’s coast. State fighters based at Iwakuni, poration, offers these sce- But just before the mis- this time at the U.S. main-
media called it a drill of home to some 10,000 U.S. narios: siles hit the water near Ja- land.
troops who will “strike the and Japanese personnel. — North Korea has a stock- pan, a nuclear weapon Its vision of a new “balance
bases of the U.S. imperialist The F-35s had reportedly pile of nuclear warheads on one or more of them of terror” built to a cre-
aggressor forces in Japan trained for a “decapitation and the ability to launch detonates, downing a few scendo as six submarine-
in a contingency.” They strike” on Kim Jong Un and them from submarines or commercial aircraft or sink- launched missiles and their
said Kim was accompa- his top lieutenants. remote, hard-to-detect ing some cargo ships. This land-based cousin rum-
nied at the launch by nu- Kim, apparently, was prac- sites on land. Fearing an would convince the world bled through the square.q