It pits a new president’s vow never to allow North Korea to put American cities at risk — “It won’t happen!” he said on Twitter on Jan. 2 — against a young, insecure North Korean leader who sees that capability as his only guarantee of survival. North Korea used to be pretty successful at launching missiles, so much so that its missiles were sold around the world. Mr. Kim was reported to have ordered an investigation into the possibility of foreign sabotage, and the missile has remained unseen since. It never really happened, and as soon as Libya’s populace turned against the dictator during the Arab Spring, the United States and its European and Arab allies drove him from power. Mr. Kim, it appears, is not planning to make the same mistake.

Source: New York Times April 17, 2017 01:20 UTC