Kim Jong Un Doesn’t Want to be Ignored

In this buzz: US , China and the “balloon gate” + North Korea and Kim Jong Un, and why he feels ignored and more…

“look at me” moment:
With so much attention focused on the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine and escalating balloon-based tension between the U.S. and China, North Korea’s Kim Jung Un seems sick of being ignored. In a “look at me” moment, North Korea fired two more ballistic missiles off of its east coast on Monday, with Kim Jong Un’s sister stating that the country’s use of the Pacific as a firing range would depend on the behavior of U.S. forces.

These launches come just two days after North Korea fired an ICBS into the sea off of Japan’s west coast which prompted the U.S. to hold joint air exercises with South Korea and separately with Japan. Regarding the ICBMs, North Korea’s news agency said the “600mm multiple rocket launcher mobilized in the firing … is a mean of carrying a tactical nuclear weapon.” No need to read between the lines there. Yikes.

The Pacific firings and Kim’s sister’s comments about a “firing range”, escalate concerns that North Korea plans to launch more missiles’ even further, possible in the direction of the U.S. territory of Guam.

Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida said that he had requested an emergency U.N Security Council meeting over the tests. However, prospects for another round of U.N sanction appear unlikely given previous vetoes by Russia and China, especially amid tensions over the war in Ukraine and “balloon-gate” tensions between China and the U.S.