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North Korea conducted what is believed to be its longest-range missile since 2017 on Sunday. The data suggests it was a ballistic missile that reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 km. This was the country’s seventh launch this month, including two hypersonic missiles.
Shortly before the launch, the Biden administration in the US called for more United Nations sanctions as it continues to advance prohibited programs despite the international community's calls for diplomacy and denuclearization. China and Russia blocked the proposal last week in the UN Security Council.
In spite of heavy sanctions imposed by two former US presidents before Biden, North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-Un did not give up his nuclear weapons program. Most of these missiles can carry a nuclear warhead.
In 2019, Kim met the US president Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam for talks. The following year North Korea closed itself off to the world due to Covid pandemic and Kim disappeared from public view for months. North Korea tested a few weapons during that period.
According to Siegfried Hecker, a nuclear scientist at Stanford University who visited North Korea, estimated the nation has enough nuclear material for more than 45 warheads. But, despite former US president Barack Obama’s advice in 2016 to make North Korea Washington' s top priority, the Biden administration still does not have any full-time ambassador to the country yet. After a policy review of North Korea last year, the Biden administration rejected the pro-engagement actions.
Analysts say North Korea is conducting so many missile tests because Kim seeks international attention. He wants to brag and prove a point before the presidential election in South Korea in March.
Experts think Biden should immediately initiate talk with North Korea. He should keep everything open for negotiation including relaxation of sanctions and suspension of military exercises between the United States and South Korea. Dialogue and diplomacy are the best way to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, along with South Korea, Japan and China on board.
Now, the only dilemma for the US is how it will manage to get on board China--the North Korea’s biggest trading partner.
READ MORE:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/us/politics/north-korea-biden-missile-tests.html
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/24/biden-north-korea-missiles-sanctions/
https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-tests-2-more-missiles-while-biden-administration-distracted-russia-ukraine-1673620
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-imposes-sanctions-north-koreans-russian-after-missile-tests-2022-01-12/