North Korea Launches Nuclear-Capable Missile Amid Calls For Asia-Style NATO
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PYONGYANG (Worthy News) – On Tuesday, North Korea published new footage of its recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch amid calls to speed up the creation of an Indo-Pacific version of the NATO military alliance.
Monday’s launch of the nuclear-capable missile was personally overseen by North Korea’s authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Un, in what observers described as an unmissable military signal for the United States and its allies.
North Korean state media said Pyongyang’s latest test of the Hwasong-18 missile, the largest in its arsenal, was a response to “increasing U.S. hostility.”
The missile reached an altitude of 6,518 km (4,050 miles), flying 1,002 km and accurately hitting the intended target, an empty patch of sea, state media said.
The weapon is believed to have an operational range of over 9,000 miles (15,000 kilometers), enough to deliver a nuclear strike on the American homeland. The launch came after the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden warned any atomic attacks against the United States or its allies would be “unacceptable” and seal the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship.
South Korea called the firing of the rocket a clear violation of international agreements intended to bar Kim Jong Un’s regime from using ballistic missiles.
U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibit Kim’s ballistic missile program and contributed to his and his country’s ongoing international isolation.
CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS
North Korea’s launch on Monday followed the communist nation’s test of a shorter-range ballistic missile the day before. Both projectiles splashed into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, but raised concerns about a broader conflict.
China is a close ally of North Korea and has added to anxiety by repeatedly moving its military closer to democratically-ruled Taiwan, the island it views as part of Chinese territory.
With tensions rising, a group of conservative politicians has proposed a bill to the U.S. Congress to establish a fact-finding panel to create an Indo-Pacific version of the Western NATO military alliance.
They say the new alliance could act as a deterrent against “growing aggression in the region by China and North Korea.”
The Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization Act was submitted by Republican Republican Mike Lawler of New York. “Our adversaries — China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea — have forged an unholy alliance to disrupt and destabilize the globe,” he added earlier.
“A collective security agreement has the potential to deter aggression and protect the forces of democracy in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement added. “It is crucial that the region’s democracies and the world work in unison to combat this rising threat.”
North Korea’s recent missile launches and China’s moves seem to support Lawler’s suggestion that there are growing challenges to peace and stability in the western Pacific.
NAVAL ASSETS
Besides North Korea threatening South Korea, the United States, and others, China is continuing its campaign of pressure on Taiwan ahead of the island’s elections on January 13, observers notice.
It has also been deploying naval assets to deter the Philippines Navy from resupplying troops on an islet in the South China Sea that Beijing claims as its own.
But despite the many reported threats to the region’s stability, analysts say it seems difficult to bring nations of the Indo-Pacific together in a local version of NATO. “There has been talk of this sort of thing at times since the Cold War, but I do not think it will go much beyond an idea,” said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Tokyo.
“For one thing, there is a lack of trust among many of the governments in the region, even if we leave China and North Korea out, while other nations just do not see the need for a formalized institution like NATO here,” he told Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
“As an institution, NATO may look good, but it took decades to build to the level it is at today. It is very political and just as bureaucratic,” he stressed.
“To many Asian nations, the hub-and-spoke approach to alliances looks much more appealing because it is flexible.”
While several legislators agree the proposal could bring together like-minded nations in a military alliance, analysts warn that the proposal is doomed to fail in an already fragile region.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.