Main points in this article:

• A North Korean government official has said North Korea is ready to launch its missiles
• A defector who held a high position in the North Korean government says the Kim-administration is nearing collapse
• There is an urgent need for Japan to strengthen its defense

 
North Korea is ready to “fire [intercontinental ballistic missiles] any time, any place”, a North Korean official said in an interview on NBC (published digitally 25 January 2017).

In the interview, the official claimed that the nuclear weapons are “all defensive in nature – to defend our sovereignty and to cope with the persistent nuclear blackmail and threats by the United States against our country.”

The Worker’s Party of Korea newspaper made similar comments on the 24th January, stating that if another country tries to intercept their ICBMs, it will trigger a war.

Do Not Let North Korea’s Barbarism Continue

While North Korea is yet to launch an ICBM, they are currently developing a missile that has a range long enough to hit the U.S. mainland. This means they are now also a major threat to the U.S.
According to the South Korean army, North Korea has two new missiles installed on transporter erector launch vehicles, that appear to be ready to launch.

North Korea is developing missiles that can target the U.S., and is becoming a threat to the safety of the world. We cannot let this barbarism continue.

Scott A. Snyder from the Council of Foreign Relations is an expert in Korean studies. In a Forbes Magazine article he declared that, “Donald Trump must take North Korea’s nuclear threat seriously” (4 January 2017).

Snyder commented that the best way to do this would be “for the Trump administration to find a way to work with China.”

“At a minimum, the [President] must isolate North Korea as an essential area of cooperation in an otherwise contentious U.S.-China relationship. And to stop North Korea’s nuclear development, sanctions must be strengthened.”

The Kim-Administration’s Path to Destruction

In contrast, there are views that the Kim-administration is headed for collapse. Thae Yong-Ho, a former North Korean ambassador to the U.K. who defected to South Korea in July, appeared at a press conference on the 27th January. “I realized that there is no future for the North Korean regime” he remarked. He said that Kim Jong-un’s “system of slavery will crumble when the people collectively rise up against him.”

Whatever the truth may be, we cannot just wait for the Kim-administration to perish naturally. North Korea is developing missiles and threatening nearby countries.

The Trump-administration has started by putting economic pressure on China through a high customs tax. And since China is supporting North Korea surreptitiously, this strategy should be a big blow for North Korea too. U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has given a high priority to safety in Asia. He is planning to protect Asia with the U.S.-Japan alliance as the foundation.
Japan too must start independently protecting its own citizens with a stronger defense policy and nuclear arms.