Jean H Lee
Standing next to me at a military parade in Pyongyang, the North Korean government official was jovial despite the bone-chilling December fog. Just days earlier, scientists had tested missile technology by firing a satellite into space in defiance of the UN Security Council. The bureaucrat was nonplussed by the prospect of UN sanctions. In fact, he was downright buoyant. “A good future lies ahead”, he portended. Continued provocations, I told him, would only draw further punishment. “Unless we behave badly, no one pays attention”, he said, matter of factly.
This was 2013. In the four years since then, North Korea’s nuclear programme has only intensified. In the din of the rhetoric from both sides, we sometimes forget to step back and look at what’s driving the leader of this tiny, impoverished country to threaten the US, a superpower with the world’s largest economy.
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