Last year, North Korea tested its “monster” new long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting almost anywhere on the planet. It lobbed another powerful missile over Japan for the first time in five years. And it lowered the bar on using nuclear weapons, codifying into law the right to “automatically” conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes to protect itself.
Tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programs soared in 2022 as it fired off a record number of weapons, prompting Seoul and Tokyo to join hands — despite their frosty ties — in the face of Pyongyang’s intransigence on the issue of denuclearization.
This year, however, could prove to be even more perilous, with signs already emerging that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains determined to follow through on a 2021 pledge to build even more advanced missiles and nuclear bombs.