North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doubled down on his arms buildup in the face of what he described as an aggravating security environment while outside governments monitor signs of a possibly imminent North Korean nuclear test explosion. North Korea for years has mastered the art of manufacturing diplomatic crises with weapons tests and threats before eventually offering negotiations aimed at extracting concessions. North Korea has a history of dialing up pressure on Seoul when it doesn’t get what it wants from Washington. During the meeting, North Korea maintained a dubious claim that its outbreak was easing despite outside concerns of huge death rates given the country’s broken health care system. GAVI, the nonprofit that runs the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program for vaccines, believes North Korea has begun administering doses given by its ally China.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 12, 2022 02:51 UTC