Rethinking North Korean Missile Capabilities

North Korea conducted a flight test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile from a floating barge in November. “[E]ven as anti-DPRK watchers might feel a sense of schadenfreude when Pyongyang’s missile development team stumbles and falls, or even snigger at the lackluster qualities of their missiles, gloating is not only premature but ill-advised,” warns Nah Liang Tuang for the Diplomat. He adds that “the best that Washington, Seoul and Tokyo can do is to adopt a two pronged strategy of utilizing their collective international influence to ensure the proper enforcement of the United Nations Security Council resolutions barring all transfers of missile or heavy weapons related technology to the DPRK…, while bolstering their military defenses against North Korean ballistic missiles.” Despite low quality weaponry, range and accuracy have gradually increased over the decades. The regime’s banks on unpredictable military power preventing political change. The essay concludes that a missile defense system is a priority for the region. – YaleGlobal