Published on Mar 3, 2014
ARIRANG NEWS
The United States has slammed North Korea for firing two more short-range missiles,... calling Monday's launchings a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
So why did the North choose to carry out yet another provocation,... and could this be a worrying sign of things to come?
Yoo Li-an tells us more.
North Korea on Monday went ahead with another missile launch less than a week after it fired four missiles into the East Sea.
The two Scud missiles fired on Monday had a range 5-hundred kilometers.... more than double those fired last Thursday.
The extended range means the missiles could reach South Korea and Japan.
While last week's firing was met with a muted response from Washington,... Monday's launch triggered a reaction.
Speaking to reporters in Washington Monday, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said the U.S. wants Pyongyang to refrain from provocative actions and focus on fulfilling its international obligations.
She also called the launches a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The North's provocative behavior comes amid the ongoing annual joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S.,... and experts say it's not surprising.
"I personally believe that we should get used to this kind of contradictory behaviors
... We have to be aware that North Korea has made it very clear that they are going to pursue so-called two-track approach. On the one hand they are going to continue building nuclear arsenals. On the other hand, they are going to pursue economic reconstruction."
So while North Korea is taking provocative actions in protest against the South Korea-U.S. drills,... pundits feel Pyongyang will soon start making conciliatory gestures,... given its goal to reconstruct its economy.
To achieve that, Pyongyang needs to extract the maximum amount of aid and hard currency it can get from the South.
Experts say they don't believe the U.S. will refer North Korea to the UN Security Council for this latest provocation.
Diplomatic sources in South Korea say that, since Washington has a lot on its plate in Ukraine and Syria, they expect the U.S. to limit its reaction to a verbal ticking-off.
Yoo Li-an, Arirang News.
Posted By: Yaiqab Saint
Tuesday, March 4th 2014 at 10:56PM
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