This political agenda, much like North Korea’s push for an intercontinental ballistic missile, was once dismissed as bluster. Even if North Korea’s own leaders consider success unlikely, they may have judged, with some reason, that this is their country’s only shot at long-term survival. The China CourseThe key to understanding North Korea’s strategy may lie in the recent past of another Asian nuclear state: China. Its size and power also made it impossible for other nations to ignore it, advantages that North Korea lacks. Nuclear Ambitions, Nuclear RisksResearch on nuclear diplomacy offers two lessons: that North Korea’s strategy is likely to fail and that the country is likely to try anyway.

Source: New York Times July 29, 2017 17:52 UTC