This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
December 10, 2019
The United States has called a UN Security Council meeting to address North Korea's recent rocket launches, amid growing tensions between the two nations.
North Korea's latest series of rocket launches has raised concerns about a return to antagonism, with diplomacy languishing between the two sides.
US President Donald Trump has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear program, describing Kim as a friend and hailing the comparative calm achieved since 2017.
However, North Korea is seeking a comprehensive deal that includes sanctions relief, particularly with Trump facing a potentially difficult re-election fight next year.
Escalating Rhetoric ¶
Trump said Saturday that Kim has 'too much to lose' if he acts in a hostile way, and expressed surprise at the possibility of North Korea acting hostilely.
Kim Yong Chol, a longtime aide to Kim Jong Un, responded with a rare personal attack on Trump, calling him a 'heedless and erratic old man' and condemning his 'odd words and expression.'
Kim said that if Trump is not 'astonished' by North Korea's response, 'we will be irritated.'
UN Security Council Meeting ¶
The United States, which holds this month's presidency of the Security Council, called the meeting to give a 'comprehensive update' on the Korean peninsula.
The meeting will focus on recent missile launches and the possibility of an escalatory DPRK provocation, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Frank Aum, a senior expert on North Korea at the US Institute of Peace, said Pyongyang is raising the temperature as it believes the United States is in no rush to make a deal.
"I think they have decided, we don't want to play the US game, where the US gets all the benefits of reduced military tensions and North Korea gets no benefits," Aum said.
However, Aum warned that North Korea could alienate China, their main diplomatic ally and aid provider, if they take major action such as a new nuclear test or a long-range ballistic missile test.
