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Showing posts with the label North Korea- Japan relations

North Korea- The path to nowhere

Image credits- KCNA North Korea is at it again. Today they again they test fired another missile, this time speculated to be their  ICBM Hwasong-15 .  The said missile flew above Japan and fell into the Japanese exclusive economic zone. What is different about this test is the fact that the missile seems to have a range of more than 13,000/- kilometres which is enough to cover most of continental United States.  North Korea seems to to be improving on it's missile and nuclear weapon technology. The above test comes soon after a nuclear test by North Korea of a weapon that is seen to be by far their largest to date. What the world especially the USA should worry is the unpredictable nature of the North Korean regime. The North Korean regime has a declared policy of seeing the USA as their principal enemy. That is imprinted in their psyche. North Korea has sene what has happened to Libya and Iraq and how their rulers were disposed by the USA and see nuclear weapons as the o

North Korea's Nuclear Test: The Fallout for Japan ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Yuki Tatsumi)

Source- The Diplomat Author- Yuki Tatsumi On January 6, North Korea announced that it had conducted its fourth nuclear test. Its state media broadcast a statement signed by Kim Jong-un that celebrated “opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb.” If confirmed, this means a great leap forward for North Korea’s nuclear program. With its ongoing missile programs, it would pose a grave direct threat not only to its neighbors in East Asia but also vis-à-vis the United States. Even if the test turns out to be a regular nuclear test, it still is a clear violation of numerous UN Security Council Resolutions that have been adopted against North Korea, including UNSRES 2049 adopted on March 7, 2013 in response to North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12, 2013. What made North Korea decide to carry out a nuclear test? Some say Pyongyang was frustrated that it is increasingly isolated in Northeast Asia, particularly with the improving relationship

North Korea’s Abductions and Abe’s Politics of Justice ( Copy Right @ The Diplomat, Author- Markus Bell)

In May, North Korean officials meeting with their Japanese counterparts in Stockholm, Sweden,  announced  that they would carry out a comprehensive, nationwide survey of all Japanese abductees currently living in North Korea. In return, the Japanese government  agreed to lift a number of sanctions currently in place  against the DPRK, allowing for the renewal of remittances that had previously flowed from Japan to North Korea, and end a movement ban between the two countries. This rather stunning agreement has raised hopes for a resolution to an issue that has bedeviled relations between the two nations for decades. Since 2002, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-il first admitted to then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during a summit meeting that Japanese citizens had been kidnapped by covert agents, little progress has been made on the abductee issue. While Tokyo has continued to demand that the North come forth with more information on the fate of hundreds of individuals belie