North Korea weapons test is a plea to restart negotiations, not a provocation or security threat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 24, 2019
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—On Wednesday, North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea. Defense Priorities Senior Fellow and Military Expert Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA, Ret. issued the following statement in response:

“Reports of another North Korean weapons test shouldn’t come as a surprise. This latest move seems like an attempt to restart negotiations with the United States, not a provocation or security threat.

“Kim Jong-un is a brutal leader of a weak state, but he faces pressure to provide economic relief for his people who have long suffered under his family’s rule. The U.S. faces no such pressure—we don’t need any deal. Deterrence already guarantees our security.

“Engaging in diplomacy toward peace and the normalization of relations between the Koreas could result in progress on other issues, such as freezes or rollbacks in North Korea’s missile program, and denuclearization as an eventual goal. North Korean missile tests are an irritant that should not sway the United States from that path.”

Author

Daniel
Davis

Senior Fellow & Military Expert

Defense Priorities