PANIC, pause; panic, pause: that seems to be the world's reaction to the increasingly unstable behaviour of North Korea.
The latest outburst is no different.
Ever since President Kim Jong-un came to power a year ago the country has been in a constant state of tension due largely to its reckless policies. As well as defying international disapproval by continuing the development of nuclear technology and testing ballistic missiles, Kim has spent hugely on his armed forces at a time when his country's economy is in serious disrepair.
All this has alarmed his regional neighbours, especially South Korea and Japan, and has led the US to counter the threat of aggression by deploying additional armed forces to south-east Asia. However, despite Kim's increasingly bellicose rhetoric, an immediate outbreak of hostilities is unlikely for the very good reason that any war would be a prelude to Kim's demise as North Korean leader. That being said, it should never be forgotten that the US went to war against Iraq 10 years ago on a much flimsier pretext: like Saddam Hussein, Kim is an erratic autocrat, but unlike him he really does possess nuclear weapons.
Clearly, this state of affairs cannot continue. Not only is it an unsettling diversion, at a time when the world has more serious issues to consider in Syria and elsewhere, but there is always a danger that one day Kim will carry out his threats.
Using force is not an option as it could spark a wider conflagration, but the time may have come to exert serious economic pressure against North Korea. Here, China has a role to play. It is the only player in the region with sufficient clout.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article