Center for East Asia Policy Studies

[In terms of the latest missle launches from North Korea] It’s important that the US not overreact because Kim is almost certainly going to use an over-thetop response from the Trump administration as an excuse to issue blustery statements and/or take progressively more incendiary actions, and then use the region’s probable alarm about the potential escalation to push the US toward the negotiating table with concessions.

[North Korea makes] maximalist demands that would be almost impossible to fulfill in the absence of a fundamental restructuring of U.S. priorities in the region and the abandonment of the nonproliferation regime that Washington and the international community have built and nurtured...  Ultimately, North Korea requires a ‘hostile’ U.S. and outside world to justify the Kim dynasty’s brutal repression of its people, tight control of information, and provocative actions. And its consistent calls for 'security guarantees’ serve as a fig leaf to delay denuclearization and cement its status and relevance as a regional player.