美国国家公共电台 NPR Analysts: North Korea Improves Its Capabilities With Each Missile Test

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DON GONYEA, HOST:

North Korea has launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile in less than a month. Nuclear experts say the latest test improved on the last one with a range that could reach most of the continental¹ U.S. NPR's Seoul correspondent Elise Hu reports.

ELISE HU, BYLINE²: Hours after North Korea again test launched its Hwasong 14 intercontinental ballistic missile, South Korea's defense³ minister appeared before cameras with a terse⁴ statement.

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SONG YOUNG-MU: (Speaking Korean).

HU: "We will start discussions with U.S. forces in Korea to temporarily place THAAD launchers," a U.S. anti-missile defense system, "and form a system of response to North Korea," Song Young-mu said. At the same time...

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Korean).

HU: ...North Korea's state media was gloating about its, quote, "surprise attack capability⁵." following its first successful ICBM launch on July 4, tens of thousands of North Koreans staged a mass dance in the streets.

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HU: Jenny Town is at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She says with each improvement, the U.S. and its allies lose leverage⁶ with the North.

JENNY TOWN: The stronger they get, the harder it becomes for us to convince them this is not the road they want to go down.

HU: She and other Korea observers have cautioned against a policy of solely⁷ ratcheting up isolation⁸ and pressure since, she argues, it plays into North Korea's hands. Domestically, Pyongyang uses all the sanctions slapped on it as evidence to show the U.S. is, quote, "hostile." She says this justifies⁹ its need for nuclear weapons.

TOWN: So they're going to continue down the path of developing their nuclear deterrence¹⁰ and WMD capabilities¹¹ in order to ensure that their regime survives.

HU: The U.S. has so far responded with a show of force with South Korea, firing precision missiles along South Korea's east coast into the sea. But as for a long-term solution, the Trump¹² administration has yet to make any headway in breaking the cycle of provocations¹³ seen for years. Jenny Town argues the right perspective is key to policy.

TOWN: They really have to understand, again, who North Korea is today in order to build an effective policy moving forward.

HU: Hoping that a different understanding can lead to better results. Elise Hu, NPR News, Seoul.

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