UCM prof says North Korean missile threats should be taken seriously
Jul 2, 2009, 7:34 AM
By RYAN DAVIS
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- North Korea is threatening to give the United States a nuclear fireworks show sometime around Independence Day.
Despite downplay by the media, a UCM political science professor says that although the launch may not happen, the world needs to take these threats a little more seriously, as the once-reclusive nation is eager to prove itself to the world.
“This has been a cat-and-mouse game between the U.S. and North Korea, since the Clinton administration,” said Akis Kalaitzidis, a UCM political science professor who specializes in international relations studies. “It is a dangerous high-stakes game; the faster we end it, the better.”
Information obtained from Japanese intelligence recently indicated a North Korean Taepodong-2, long-range missile might be launched at the Hawaiian islands between July 4 and 8.
Although some in the U.S. have downplayed the threats because the missile is believed to have a range of 4,000 miles, 500 miles short of Hawaii, the president warns that North Korea still poses a threat.
Because of this and previous nuclear testing, the U.S. bolstered its defenses in Hawaii by moving a ground-based mobile missile system, complete with a nearby radar, to the islands. U.S. officials are claiming the system could shoot the missile down in mid-air, if necessary.
Earlier, in response to North Korea’s illegal nuclear testing May 25 in defiance of U.N. sanctions, President Barack Obama commented on the issue at the White House, which aired on CNN.
“North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action. North Korea’s actions endanger the people of North-East Asia and they are a blatant violation of international law,” Obama said.
“Russia and China, as well as our traditional allies of South Korea and Japan, have all come to the same conclusion -— North Korea will not find security and respect through threats and illegal weapons," he said. "We will work with our friends and allies to stand up to this behavior.”
After the U.N. enacted more stringent sanctions, and world leaders spoke out against the communist nation, North Korea responded with threats of war and expanding its nuclear program.
However, some leaders doubt that anything will come of this, and Andrea Alvelais, a former DigitalBurg reporter and current CNN International intern in Seoul, says the South Koreans feel the same way.
“The people (of South Korea) are aware that they live under a
war truce, and the fact that the war has not broken out over the past 50-plus years reassures them,” Alvelais said. “The North Korean government does this at least once a year: they stir up the waters as much as they can to obtain international attention and favoritism, whether it is through the removal of economic sanctions, monetary aid, etc.”
Still, the North Koreans are claiming that they are a “proud nuclear power, (that) will not flinch.” This has caused some to wonder if the nation poses a threat due to their ever-increasing need to prove themselves to the world.
“Once we deal with nuclear weapons, we must tread very carefully. North Korea appears desperate to legitimize their regime and they are using the weapons’ capability to that end,” Kalaitzidis said. “This makes me believe that the nuclear arsenal is more of a bargaining chip than an actual threat, yet the U.S. must be vigilant.”
Since its initial threats of a missile strike in Hawaii, North Korea upped its rhetoric by claiming it would counter any U.S. attack with a “fire shower of nuclear retaliation,” and said Monday that it will shoot down all Japanese planes entering North Korean airspace, which its suspects of spying on nearby missile launch sites.
These threats come amid heightened tensions between the country and the U.S., as well as the U.N., who are putting pressure on the nation to disarm its nuclear program.
North Korea has also warned that any attempt to board a North Korean ship would be considered an act of war. This came following a recent U.N. sanction, in response to a long-range rocket launch April 5 and a second nuclear test May 25, aimed at depriving North Korea of funds needed to support its nuclear program.
That sanction also allows the search of North Korean ships suspected of carrying materials used for creating nuclear missiles.
The new sanction has created a point of contention, as a North Korean ship, the Kang Nam 1, which is heading toward Myanmar and suspected of carrying ballistics materials, has been tailed by the Navy destroyer, USS John McCain, for nearly two weeks now.
Although the threat of an impending attack is still hypothetical, there is plenty of speculation because they have restricted travel in their seas until July 10 for military exercises.
A similar occurrence happened last year, during which North Korea tested another missile. Still there are some who, while they say that the nation may pose a threat, do not believe that the launch will take place.
“As far as the alleged missile launch on the Fourth of July, people (in South Korea) are generally skeptical about it. The Japanese media reported that it would happen, and the South Korean media are downplaying it, as well as the U.S. media,” Alvelais said. “A lot of people question whether North Korea even has functioning long-range missiles, and if they would even dare to use them.”
Whether the North Koreans will act on their words, thus causing a possible war, is still unknown and open to speculation.
“No one is firing at Hawaii; it would be suicidal,” Kalaitzidis said. “That is a casus belli (cause of war) and the U.S. would be in its right to defend itself.”
However, CNN aired a speech given from the White House June 16, in which the president is making it known that there are peaceful ways at solving the issue.
“I want to be clear that there is another path available to North Korea, a path that leads to peace and economic opportunity for the people of North Korea, including full integration into the community of nations,” said Obama. “That destination can only be reached through peaceful negotiations that achieve the full, and verifiable, denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”
CNN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
