North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Saturday to test the new Trump administration according to experts, as reported by Aljazeera. Although seeing how Trump reacts is only icing on the cake, North Korea’s intention is “drawing global attention to the North by boasting its nuclear and missile capabilities,” according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.
With instances of North Korea acting up, it is never just a United States issue. It may be the one issue that unites the big powers in Asia, in terms of condemning North Korea’s actions. The UN Security Council actually passed resolutions on North Korea, barring North Korea from using any ballistic missile technology. The six sets of sanctions that the council has imposed on North Korea has not deterred the country from developing their ballistic missiles as Kim Jong-Un boasted last month that they are in the final stages of building an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.
China has the closest relations with North Korea, accounting for 70% of its trade and provides food and energy aid. In The Washington Post article “With friends like these: China’s awkward position after North Korea’s missile test,” China views this as a test of Sino-U.S. relations as Trump had an “extremely cordial” call with China to support its “One China” policy. The missile test has come at a time when the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe is visiting the U.S. and when South Korea has impeached its president. China has been against the U.S deploying its antimissile Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense system (THAAD) in the region but with North Korea’s actions will undermine their campaign.
The United States, Japan, and South Korea has called an urgent meeting of the UN Security council. If the previous UN sanction did not work on North Korea, what will work? China might be the only country with any pull with North Korea but how far are they willing to act as China has the greatest fear of a destabilized North Korea?