Welcome to Issues in Japan
I would like tentatively share some of the article contents of Foreign Affairs, with the title "North Korea is becoming an asset for China: Pyongyang’s missiles could fracture America’s alliances."
On January 30, North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile from the north province of Jagang, its seventh rocket test this year.
The rockets are not, after all, the nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that North Korea has tested in the past.
By comparison, the launches may look like a lesser concern—just another routine military provocation from Pyongyang.
But the tests aren’t coming at a routine moment.
Instead, they are occurring at a time of stark, rising competition between the United States and the Pacific’s other great power: China.
U.S. assistant secretary of defense Ely Ratner declared that deterring China from attacking Taiwan is “an absolute priority.”
In this context, North Korea’s tests take on a new meaning—and it is dangerous for U.S. ambitions.
The heightened threat of North Korean missile attacks incentivizes both Japan and South Korea to avoid alienating Beijing, which they hope will help keep Pyongyang in check. (China is North Korea’s main patron and sole ally.)
It also means both Japan and South Korea are likely to redouble their militaries’ focus on Pyongyang rather than support U.S. operations elsewhere in Asia.
And if the United States has to bolster its armed posture on the Korean Peninsula, whether to assuage Seoul’s and Tokyo’s fears, better deter North Korea, or fight in an actual conflict, Washington will need to reposition forces designed to constrain China elsewhere.
Pyongyang’s weapons program was long seen as a liability for Beijing, given the erratic and unpredictable behavior of North Korea’s leaders.
Now, it is becoming an asset.
For China, this switch comes at an opportune time. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has grown more impatient, expansionist, and belligerent.
For the detailed information please visit the following.
https://youtu.be/veFZRdK1OTM
Thank you for your interest.
Source: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2022-02-03/north-korea-becoming-asset-china
