The Conversation
27 April 2017
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Why North Korea’s Nuclear Threat Must be Taken More Seriously Than Ever
Why North Korea’s Nuclear Threat Must be Taken More Seriously Than Ever
During what was the 2017 Easter weekend for most of the world, North Koreans celebrated the “Day of the Sun”. It was the 105th birthday of the country’s late founding leader and “eternal president” Kim Il-sung (1912-1994).
Thousands of soldiers, military vehicles and, most notably, various ballistic missiles were paraded for the inspection of current supreme leader Kim Jong-Un (Kim Il-sung’s grandson).
But it wasn’t the parade that signalled North Korea’s belligerence; numerous other countries hold military parades to mark some significant occasion or another.
Instead, what was clearly aggressive was the presentation of a mock-up video of the country’s ballistic missiles destroying an American city during a national musical performance.
This video is the most visceral expression yet of Pyongyang’s intentions. Its telecast was likely timed to coincide with the expected arrival of the US Navy’s aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, and its accompanying fleet of warships in Korean waters.
… Graham Ong-Webb is a Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
IDSS / GPO / Online
