North Korea: worst-case scenario?

North Korea is a strange country. Since Kim Jong-un took power, hopes of a new détente in the peninsula have been dashed by increasingly frequent provocations by Pyongyang – missiles launches and nuclear tests – with potentially disastrous regional consequences. In this way, North Korean actions prompted the issue missile defense to become a new locus of tensions between regional powers. From these developments, two fundamental questions arise: what capabilities does North Korea have? What does North Korea want? This is second part* of the analysis brings forward a critical view of Pyongyang’s ambitions and constrains as well as an open-ended probe into the diplomatic options available to the international community.

Crédit photo : les statues de Kim Il-sung et Kim Jong-il devant le "Palais du Soleil Kumsusan" - en fait, le mausolée érigé à la gloire de la dynastie Kim (source : collection privée)  

* First part : North Korea: Nuclear and ballistic stakes