I spoke with Julia Hartley-Brewer of London’s talkRADIO on Friday about North Korea’s latest missile test, a second overflight of northern Japan using an intermediate-range ballistic missile that travelled 3,700 km (2,300 miles) before landing in the Pacific Ocean.
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Noting Pyongyang’s latest posturing, following new UN sanctions adopted earlier this week, I assessed:
This is a logical response in that they don’t want to show weakness, I don’t think it means a major shift that we’re any closer to military confrontation…. If North Korea launches that first missile, whether it’s conventional or whether it’s nuclear, whether it’s South Korea or Japan or the American Island of Guam they try to hit, that’s regime suicide.
The discussion then considers ways of stepping back from the threats and rhetoric from North Korea and the US to get to diplomacy and negotiations.