North Korea is a very dangerous nuclear power both globally and regionally.[1]Because Pyongyang, on the one hand, is developing its nuclear power, on the other hand, it carries out nuclear exercises and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Tests (ICBM). Because 2022 has been the year that North Korea made the most ICBM tests.[2] As a matter of fact, it can be argued that Pyongyang’s nuclear threat has caused security concerns of global as well as regional importance. At the same time, the sanctions resolutions that are tried to be taken within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against North Korea are also faced with the vetoes of China and Russia.[3]
North Korea; It challenges the rules-based international order led by the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). There is a global rivalry between the Western camp and Pyongyang because of both the nuclear danger and the challenge involved. In this context, Western actors such as the USA and NATO organize various exercises in the Asia-Pacific. States that feel the nuclear threat of Pyongyang most closely, such as South Korea and Japan, also participate in these exercises.[4]
The danger posed by North Korea also creates a legitimate basis for the West’s goals of gaining influence in the region due to its opposition to China. As a matter of fact, the USA and NATO aim to establish a pole and gain influence in the Asia-Pacific on the basis of the global competition with Beijing. Therefore, the existence of North Korea also creates a justification for these aspirations of the West. In short, the presence of Pyongyang is used as a legitimating tool in the West’s containment policy against Beijing in the region.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on July 16, 2023, that the Biden Administration remains concerned that North Korea may conduct a new and more powerful ICBM test.[5] This shows that Pyongyang paints an image that does not back down at the point of nuclear tests. On the other hand, according to a report worshiped by KCNA, the official state media of North Korea; North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam said that the deployment of US aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet Pyongyang’s criteria for using nuclear weapons and cause it to use those weapons.[6] Kang used the following statements in his statement:[7]
“The deployment of nuclear submarines and other strategic weapons may fall under the terms of use of nuclear weapons under the North Korean Constitution.”
The moves of states such as South Korea, Japan and Australia, which can be called as the USA and its important allies in the Asia-Pacific, appear as a provoking issue for North Korea rather than creating a deterrent. The situation in question may be a factor that increases the nuclear danger from a regional and global perspective. In this context, it can be said that the tension between the West and North Korea will continue to increase.
As a result, it can be argued that North Korea and its nuclear power have a devastating effect on the security conjuncture of the Asia-Pacific Region. This situation pushes countries such as South Korea and Japan, which are the states that feel the danger most closely, to conduct exercises with the USA. However, all these steps provoke Pyongyang even more.
[1] “Is it Time to Accept North Korea is a Nuclear Power?”, Cable News Network World, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/28/asia/north-korea-nuclear-threat-solution-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html, (Erişim Tarihi: 24.07.2023).
[2] “North Korea Resumes Launching Missile Tests. How Worried Should We Be?”, The Time, https://time.com/6266737/north-korea-ballistic-missile-tests-2023/, (Erişim Tarihi: 24.07.2023).
[3] “China and Russia Veto New UN Sanctions on North Korea For First Time Since 2006”, Cable News Network World, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/26/asia/us-north-korea-united-nations-intl-hnk/index.html#:~:text=Russia%20and%20China%20on%20Thursday,develop%20nuclear%2Dcapable%20missile%20systems., (Erişim Tarihi: 24.07.2023).
[4] “South Korea, US, Japan Hold anti-North Korea Submarine Drill”, Associated Press News, https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-japan-north-korea-drills-5ce09e9d8b7a0f76b043588b5745716e, (Erişim Tarihi: 24.07.2023).
[5] US Remains Concerned North Korea Will Conduct Another Missile Test”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/white-house-remains-concerned-north-korea-will-conduct-another-missile-test-2023-07-16/, (Erişim Tarihi: 24.07.2023).
[6] “North Korea Threatens Nuclear Retaliation over US Displays of Military Force”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-says-deployment-us-strategic-assets-meets-condition-its-nuclear-2023-07-20/, (Erişim Tarihi: 21.07.2023).
[7] Aynı yer.
