Archives USA and DPRK - New Eastern Outlook
Early escalation?
On July 22, 2023, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Gen. Mark Milley informed the Japanese daily Nikkei that “the Korean situation is an area that the United States could ― I’m not saying it will, but ‘could’ ― find itself in a state of war, you know, within a few days, with very little notice.” Milley then described North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as unpredictable, claiming that a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile may strike the US mainland. Milley’s objective, according to South Korean experts, was undoubtedly to stress Washington’s commitment to maintaining peace and security on the peninsula, but he could have been more careful in his choice of words. According to Park Won-gon, professor in North…
New tensions on the Korean Peninsula: who is to blame?
This spring on the Korean Peninsula has been hot so far. The United Nations Security Council held a meeting on the North Korean issue at the end of March, at the request of the United States and its allies. The reason was another missile launch carried out by Pyongyang on March 16. The US condemned Pyongyang’s actions, stressing that the Security Council should have responded with a resolution that was appropriate. Miroslav Jenča, Representative of Slovakia, made a report in which he indicated, in reference to another missile launch by the DPRK, that the situation around the peninsula was heading in the “wrong direction.” North Korea carried out another missile launch on April…