North Korea Says Goal Is ‘Equilibrium’ With US Forces

Aims to End Real Threat of US Attack

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered substantial insight into his nation’s aims with its ongoing military tests, in quotes released through the nation’s state news agency KCNA.

“Our final goal is to establish the equilibrium of real force with the US and make the US rulers dare not talk about military options,” Kim was quoted as saying. He added that the effectiveness of Hwasong-12 missile is verified after two successful tests.

Though this has taken North Korea increasingly to focus on developing missiles of longer range and nuclear warheads in recent years, it’s not dissimilar to their strategy since the Korean War, which has always been to have a sufficient deterrent force to dissuade the US from attacking them.

In the past, conventional weapons and a massive retaliatory capability against South Korea was considered by North Korea to be sufficient. The current efforts seek to extend their range for retaliation, as well as the threat of such a war going nuclear.

Talk last week of the US settling for “deterrence” with North Korea instead of a military solution is, ultimately, the point of what North Korea is doing. They’re perfectly willing to be “contained” militarily, so long as they similarly keep a lid on the threat of US attacks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.