June 8, 2017

"First U.S. President Donald Trump moved U.S. naval units into waters near North Korea to dissuade the mysterious authoritarian state from developing nukes. Then in April he got North Korea’s best friend China sort of to join the cause. China responded with reported moves to cut fuel aid, threatening the chief source of Pyongyang’s crude oil, and restrict imports of North Korean coal. You’re supposed to imagine now that the North Korean government of Kim Jong-un will feel scared and throttle nuclear weapons development and missile tests that have totaled nine this year to date.

But that’s hardly the style of paranoid dictators without much of a global fan base. So North Korea will keep developing missiles through tests that could easily hit its next-door neighbor and most deep-seated rival South Korea as well as Japan and maybe someday the United States. It’s not expected to start a war but wants to feel confident it could defend itself."

Read more:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2017/06/08/north-korea-will-step-up-missile-tests-despite-growing-chinese-and-u-s-pressure/#4691849e2b55