The fond hope of the USA that China will help in putting pressure on North Korea has not worked. One is not aware whether the Chinese put any pressure on North Korea or not. But one thing is clear and that is that Kim Jong is not bothered. He has upped the ante by test firing another missile.
Missile test
This appears to be a new type of missile. The missile was launched from a North Korean base and flew about 700 kilometers and landed about 100 kilometers from the Russian city of Vladivostok, which incidentally is the headquarters of their Far East fleet.
The Missile reached a height of over 2000 kilometers and could be considered an IRBM.
The test appears to have been supervised by Kim Jong-un. The successful test of the missile has alarmed South Korea and Japan and both nations have condemned the missile test. The reaction from the United States is much more muted and Nikki Haley the US representative to the United Nations has said that the screws on the North will be "tightened". Such a statement shows that the Americans are at their wit's end as to how to confront North Korea.
North Korean missile test
The North Korean missile was fired at a high trajectory and reached a height of almost 2000 kilometers. If it had been fired with a lower trajectory it would have traveled a distance of over 4000 kilometers.
This shows that North Korea is rapidly developing its missile technology. The aim of North Korea is to develop an ICBM that can get to the United States. Trump has vowed that he will not allow this.
Challenge to Russia?
The missile which landed close to the Russian coast would not havè pleased the Russians. One report indicated the Russian Far East fleet was put on alert.
The test firing of the missile took place when the Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Beijing attending a meeting on the one belt one road economic proposal by China. It also appeared to be a warning to the new South Korean president who had just indicated that he was ready for a meeting with the North Korean leadership
Donald Trump and unconventional leader
Donald Trump is an unconventional leader.
He has already said that he would be" honored" to meet the Korean leader if the conditions were right. This shows that he is a pragmatic leader and is keeping all options open.
There is no doubt that the North Korean leader is sitting in an ivory tower. Someone has to lure him out of it. Maybe Trump will be that man. North Korean leadership has already indicated that they could have a meeting with the American leadership if the conditions are good.
Last word
North Korea is a very small Nation and it is inconceivable that it could have developed missile technology without any help from China. By giving China a long rope for the last five decades the Americans have missed the bus as far as the proliferation of nuclear weaponry in the Far East is concerned.
