The hermit nation of North Korea has carried out a flurry of missile launches since the beginning of this year. These seemingly unprovoked actions by Kim Jong Un's regime are seen as a tactic to grab Washington's attention.
The Biden administration's international and diplomatic efforts have been focused elsewhere. The escalating tensions on the Ukraine border, reviving nuclear talks with Iran, and tracking China's aggressive moves have moved Pyongyang to the back burner in Western minds.
Other than slapping new sanctions over already existing ones on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Biden administration has not signaled any major shift in policy, despite the provocative show of might.
Many opine that sanctions on the East Asian country have downright failed to achieve the goal of denuclearization. It has only spurred the dynastic regime to pursue nuclear weaponization steadfastly. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and a report jointly produced by the U.S.-based Rand Corp. and the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Kim Jong Un possesses "over 40 warheads, and can produce six per year."
North Korea's neighbors, near and far, are wary of this isolated state and its insistent pursuit of long-range missiles that can deliver nuclear warheads as far as Japan and American shores.
