When Kim Jong Un does not get what he wants, he makes his displeasure known far and wide. Over the past few weeks, one would have thought that Kim would be reasonably content. In return for sending artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and most recently, troops to Russia, North Korea has been receiving food, cash, and most likely, technological assistance, the latter which is what Kim craves the most. But instead of calming down, Kim has responded in the way that he knows best – by launching yet another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) designed to hit the US mainland.
Relations between the two Koreas have plummeted to a nadir over the past year
From North Korea’s perspective, Thursday’s launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was something to be proud of. It was not just the fact that, as Kim Jong Un proclaimed in a statement soon afterwards, the ICBM test signalled North Korea’s unwavering ‘will to respond to our enemies’.