Author: Bakhtiar Urusov
This spring on the Korean Peninsula has been hot so far. The United Nations Security Council held a meeting on the North Korean issue at the end of March, at the request of the United States and its allies. The reason was another missile launch carried out by Pyongyang on March 16. The US condemned Pyongyang’s actions, stressing that the Security Council should have responded with a resolution that was appropriate. Miroslav Jenča, Representative of Slovakia, made a report in which he indicated, in reference to another missile launch by the DPRK, that the situation around the peninsula was heading in the “wrong direction.” North Korea carried out another missile launch on April 13 at 7:23 a.m. The new solid-fuel Hwasong 18 intercontinental ballistic missile flew into the sky.
Although no state openly supports DPRK’s nuclear missile programs, the following picture is emerging if you dig deeper and consider the issue from all angles, without allowing it to drift toward the Western viewpoint. There are very specific reasons for a new round of tension on the Korean Peninsula. The US put strategic weapons here and began large-scale field training exercises across the peninsula, making no attempt to conceal the fact that the exercises are intended to simulate an attack on the DPRK.
A US Air Force B-52H strategic bomber flew over the Korean Peninsula on April 5. The flight was part of a joint exercise that included the South Korean and US fighter jets. “The South Korean and US militaries have been expanding their combined military drills in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The drills show the strong resolve of the (South) Korea-US alliance and its perfect readiness to respond to any provocation by North Korea swiftly and overwhelmingly,” said the commander of the South Korean air force operation command.
“The US and its followers should never forget the fact that their rival state has possessed a nuclear attack capability in practice as well as the characteristics of the people and army of the DPRK which do not make empty talk,” responded the Korean Central News Agency.
In reality, it is the Americans who are deliberately ratcheting up the tensions in the area. The North Korean nuclear threat has evolved into a handy justification for the United States, Japan, and South Korea to boost their military spending and military attack capabilities in the area. Despite the fact that the justifications put forth by Washington have so far found no support, the Americans are deliberately persuading the world that Pyongyang intends to carry out underground nuclear tests.
As a result, in order to deter future US aggression, North Korea has increased efforts to construct its own nuclear arsenal and conduct missile tests. Nuclear weapons become the sole trustworthy assurance of safety and survival. Pyongyang does not want to end up in the shoes of the former Yugoslavia, Iraq or Libya. Washington, for its part, is not in a rush to address Pyongyang’s legitimate concerns and take steps to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and resume dialogue.
Bakhtiar Urusov, a political observer, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”
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