North Korea Answers President Moon’s Peace Overtures with Missile Launch
North Korea continues its usual playbook of provocations to influence potential negotiations:
The Moon Jae-in government is making last-ditch efforts for progress on its inter-Korean peace drive before President Moon’s term ends in about five months, but Pyongyang is remaining unresponsive to Seoul’s continued calls for dialogue.
Rather, North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday morning, marking this year’s first missile launch. This launch coincided with Moon’s attendance at a groundbreaking ceremony for the railroad construction to connect Gangneung and Jejin of Gangwon Province, a part of the inter-Korean railroad connection project based upon the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration adopted by Moon and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
According to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), North Korea fired a projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile at around 8:10 a.m. into the sea off its east coast from Jagang Province. The JCS said the South Korean and U.S. militaries are currently analyzing details of the missile launch but are yet to provide further details such as range or speed of the missile. (……)Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said Pyongyang seemed to be assured that its missile launch would not bring strong opposition from China, while the Olympics event itself has failed to draw big attention internationally amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
“The missile launch could also be used as a bargaining chip when the North engages in negotiations with the South’s next government after the South elects a new president in March,” Shin said. “There have been many signs of economic hardships in the North including the news that Kim Jong-un gave fish to Pyongyang residents as presents. In that respect, the missile launch is also aimed at strengthening internal solidarity among the people of North Korea.”
Korea Times
You can read more at the link, but with the so called diplomatic boycott going on with the Beijing Olympics the CCP is likely has less reservations with North Korea conducting launches before the Olympics.
You can’t really blame them, when the Korean War is still going on.
Why do you expect them to pack it in, when the war is still on?
If you want to stop this war, then all the US has to do is sign the end of war declaration. Then you can bark at North Korea if they still fire missiles. But not until then.
Um, I think you mean the United Nations. Also, November of 1950 Korea was unified until the Communist Chinese attacked Korea.
It’s the US that refuses to sign the peace treaty. What are you talking about?
On 19 July 1953 delegates reached agreement covering all issues on the agenda.[30] On 27 July 1953 at 10:00 a.m., the Armistice was signed by Nam Il, delegate of the KPA and PVA, and William K. Harrison Jr., UNC delegate.[2] Twelve hours after the signing of the document, all regulations approved in the armistice commenced.[31] The agreement provided for monitoring by an international commission. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established to prevent reinforcements being brought into Korea, either additional military personnel or new weapons, and NNSC member inspection teams from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland operated throughout Korea.[13]
why is china not signing a peace treaty?