North Korea using missile launches to be taken seriously by US: Expert

By Emre Basaran

ISTANBUL (AA) – North Korea has been ramping up tensions in its region with its military activity, launching its first ballistic missile of 2024 on Sunday.

The projectile was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a 5,000-kilometer (3,106-mile) range, and it fell into the Sea of Japan, landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In late December, Pyongyang fired a solid fuel-powered Hwasong-18, which has a much higher range of 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles).

Earlier this month, South Korea accused North Korea of firing more than 200 rounds of artillery shells northwest of Yeonpyeong island, which sits right on the maritime border between the two Koreas.

Pyongyang disputed Seoul’s claim, refuting it as a “deceptive operation,” adding that it detonated blasting powder which “simulated the sound of 130 mm coastal artillery for 60 times.”

The hermit kingdom, which has also sent into space its first military spy satellite recently and vowed to send three more, has been dominating the headlines around the world, and that’s exactly what it wants, according to academic David Campbell.

North Korea wants to be “taken seriously” by the US, Campbell, a lecturer at the Comparative Political Sciences department at the University of Vienna, told Anadolu.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to go back to the days when former US President Donald Trump treated him as a legitimate counterpart and pursued diplomacy with the country, he said.

Trump was the first sitting US president to meet a North Korean leader, holding face-to-face talks three times during his presidency.

“I think, in a certain sense, this is a policy of an actor who wants to attract as much attention as possible to have some bargaining chips,” he said.

“I think you could call it a strategy of blackmailing by imposing these aggressive acts,” Campbell said, adding that Pyongyang “wants to have something in compensation for this.”

He said Kim viewed his meetings with Trump as a diplomatic success and used them to bolster his image at home too.

That diplomacy came to an end when Joe Biden took over, leaving Kim feeling “neglected,” he said.

“In that sense, psychology comes into play. The North Korean dictator has the impression of being neglected; ‘Why isn’t the current American president willing to meet me?’ he asks himself,” said Campbell.

“I think we should not underestimate these psychological factors. This is, of course, not a recommendation that Biden should meet the North Korean dictator. But I think Kim is annoyed that the current US administration is completely ignoring him in public. In engaging again with missile tests and so on, he aims to build up pressure.”

Seeing that he is being ignored, Kim goes on to “take a little bit of revenge” and “reactivate his missile program,” Campbell said.

He mentioned the upcoming US elections and said that North Korea’s missile tests are playing into Trump’s hands as he makes a bid to return to the White House.

“The North Korean dictator also provides electoral ammunition for Trump, because Trump is being domestically criticized for having met the North Korean dictator,” he said.

“But then Trump can also make the following argument: ‘If we don’t meet him, then he again engages in these missile tests.’ So I think this is at least an interesting narrative.”

- Involvement in Ukraine war

Campbell also mentioned the White House’s recent statement that North Korea gave Russia ballistic missile launchers and ballistic missiles, saying that leads to “a new element of danger.”

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is visiting Moscow for three days on Monday, where she will hold talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and other officials.

The visit comes as both the US and Ukraine have accused Russia of using North Korean missiles in recent attacks on several Ukrainian regions.

Along with “certain types of weapons like ammunition and artillery,” Pyongyang could also be delivering things that “could be used both for civilian and military products, for drones and other military equipment,” said Campbell, adding that these would represent “further steps of an escalation.”

“This new component, which is rather dangerous, could see a scenario where North Korean personnel would engage in the war on the side of the Russians against Ukraine,” he said.

It would be “thinkable” that North Korea could deploy a “certain number of troops basically fighting with the Russians against the Ukrainians,” he added.

“Who can rule out that something like this may occur in the upcoming months of the year 2024?” said Campbell.

He noted that “different forms of engagement of North Korea in the war in Ukraine may also serve as a role model.”

“Therefore, I think that such a North Korean momentum in Ukraine would be so dangerous because it could break a barrier and provide a role model for other nations wanting to fight on the side of Russia,” he concluded.