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China and North Korea have been traveling on a bumpy road, thanks to Pyongyang’s refusal to give up its weapons of mass destruction.
Beijing, however, has been unable to completely cut off North Korea economically, and if it did there is no question the Kim Jong Un regime would be critically affected.
The consequences of worsening relations however, do not appear to weigh on North Korea, which has been claiming the Hwasong-12, a recently tested ballistic missile, could strike any target in China.
Yes, China. Not the United States, South Korea, or any of the other sworn enemies of the regime.
Why the overt hostility toward an ally?
There are many plausible theories but China has grown increasingly intolerant of North Korea provocations. Beijing may be punishing the regime with sanctions, including a reduction in fuel supply to North Korea that began in April.
The possible supply cuts may be angering Pyongyang, and are pushing North Korea to mobilize volunteers to plant more trees, because more are being cut down for firewood as a source of fuel.
North Korea’s weekly ballistic missile tests are being taken seriously in the United States, and recent calls in Congress for an increase in military spending in the Pacific are responses to the ongoing threats.
One Republican congressman is seeking a $2.1 billion increase in U.S. military expenditures, and U.S. Sen. John McCain wants to add another $7.5 billion.
The Pentagon is also adding eight more ground-based interceptor missiles at Fort Greely, Alaska, and updating a sea-based X-band radar to deter North Korea.
And even before North Korea’s tests of the missiles Hwasong-12, on May 14, and the Pukguksong-2 on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was concerned about the mental stability of the North Korean leader, and asked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for his opinion of Kim.
"He is not stable, Mr. President, as he keeps on smiling when he explodes a rocket. He even has gone against China which is the last country he should rebuke," Duterte told Trump in April, according to a leaked transcript from the Philippines' foreign affairs department.
Now everyone has entered unchartered territory.
China and North Korea have been traveling on a bumpy road, thanks to Pyongyang’s refusal to give up its weapons of mass destruction.
Beijing, however, has been unable to completely cut off North Korea economically, and if it did there is no question the Kim Jong Un regime would be critically affected.
The consequences of worsening relations however, do not appear to weigh on North Korea, which has been claiming the Hwasong-12, a recently tested ballistic missile, could strike any target in China.
Yes, China. Not the United States, South Korea, or any of the other sworn enemies of the regime.
Why the overt hostility toward an ally?
There are many plausible theories but China has grown increasingly intolerant of North Korea provocations. Beijing may be punishing the regime with sanctions, including a reduction in fuel supply to North Korea that began in April.
The possible supply cuts may be angering Pyongyang, and are pushing North Korea to mobilize volunteers to plant more trees, because more are being cut down for firewood as a source of fuel.
North Korea’s weekly ballistic missile tests are being taken seriously in the United States, and recent calls in Congress for an increase in military spending in the Pacific are responses to the ongoing threats.
One Republican congressman is seeking a $2.1 billion increase in U.S. military expenditures, and U.S. Sen. John McCain wants to add another $7.5 billion.
The Pentagon is also adding eight more ground-based interceptor missiles at Fort Greely, Alaska, and updating a sea-based X-band radar to deter North Korea.
And even before North Korea’s tests of the missiles Hwasong-12, on May 14, and the Pukguksong-2 on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was concerned about the mental stability of the North Korean leader, and asked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for his opinion of Kim.
"He is not stable, Mr. President, as he keeps on smiling when he explodes a rocket. He even has gone against China which is the last country he should rebuke," Duterte told Trump in April, according to a leaked transcript from the Philippines' foreign affairs department.
Now everyone has entered unchartered territory.
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