North Korea returns to an old strategy on Victory Day
Defying expectations, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the Russian celebration commemorating the end of World War II in Europe. After Moscow confirmed Kim's attendance, it retracted it, stating that domestic issues would keep Kim at home.
Many had expected the Russian ceremony to serve as Kim's cotillion, his formal emergence onto the world stage as the fully consolidated leader of North Korea.
Instead, as world leaders gathered in Moscow, North Korean state media announced that Pyongyang had carried out a test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Kim's orders, a clear indication that North Korea wants the world to consider it a developing nuclear power with second-strike capability.… Seguir leyendo »