As we approach early May, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to hold the first Party Congress in more than three decades, Kim is determined to demonstrate to the world that his nation is strong and has achieved the status of a nuclear military power and that there can be no rollback to this capability. Yesterday, Pyongyang announced that the North had successful test-fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile that, according to a quote from Kim Jong-un would give North Korea the ability to “push an annihilate-the-enemy knife nto the back of the heads of the South Korean puppets and the US imperialists any time it pleases.” This follows an unsuccessful first test launch on April 17th of what is believed to be the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, a system designed to target US and allied forces that would come to the aid of South Korea in a conflict. In addition, South Korean President Park Geun-hye told the international media last week that the North is preparing for its fifth North Korean nuclear test.
Many observers, including some North Korean defectors, cite Kim’s owns statements to support the “truism”’ that he will never negotiate away his nuclear weapons. There is no doubt that Kim wants to convince the United States and its allies that North Korea cannot be deterred from achieving nuclear status on par with the permanent five members of the UN Security Council. He believes that the survival of his regime rest in large part on his ability to demonstrate the power to threaten the nuclear devastation of his potential adversaries as shown by a recent North Korean video that shows the White House in flames after a North Korean missile strike.
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