NORTH Korea test-fired last Wednesday a ballistic missile that appeared to have been launched from a submarine in the sea northeast of Wonsan, North Korea. South Korea tracked the missile, parts of which fell into waters of Japan’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. It was protested by Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Japan was deeply concerned since the missile parts landed near its territory, like many previous missile launches. North Korea’s long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles in the past have even flown across Japan to land in the Pacific Ocean in the general direction of the United States. Those were the days when North Korea and the US were exchanging threats of nuclear destruction, before they finally agreed to talk peace in 2018.
US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met in Singapore in June, 2018, followed by a second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February, 2019. But the summit was cut short without any agreement because, Trump said later, North Korea wanted an end to all sanctions. But North Korea Foreign Minister said his country only wanted a partial lifting of the sanctions.
That was eight months ago, without any movement in the peace talks until the two nations agreed to resume talks sometime this month. Last Wednesday’s missile launch was evidently timed for the expected talks. It made it clear that North Korea remains a threat that must not be ignored.
There is a new element in last week’s missile test. It was believed launched from a submarine. North Korea may be obliterated in case of nuclear war, as President Trump once threatened, but that would not end the threat of nuclear retaliation from its submarines.
Officials of the two countries confirmed last week that working-level negotiations would resume by weekend, but no details were given. North Korean officials had reportedly indicated their willingness to resume talks after the ouster of John R. Bolton, long known for his hawkish views on Korea, as Trump’s national security adviser.
As the long-suspended talks resume, we hope the submarine-launched missile test this week will be seen by the US, not so much as a new threat as further encouragement to reach an agreement with North Korea, which would finally end an old threat to peace in our part of the world.
