This latest provocation by North Korea- more significant than any thus far by it- represents an escalation, and one that perhaps more than any by them, exposes the incoherence thus far at the heart of policies and strategies by other countries in the region ( and especially the united States) to contain It.
North Korea has insisted that accruing nuclear weapons is a form of deterrence- a means of preventing a 'decapitation strike' from the United States which if it were to happen, would surely spell the end the reign of the Kim dynasty and the complexion of North Korea as we know it today.
It is however clear that the reign of Kim Jong-un in North Korea has seen a palpable escalation in tensions in the region, which condemnation and isolation by themselves are doing nothing to curtail. A troubling outcome of this is that something could give in an instant, gravely jeopardizing the already uneasy peace the region knows today and leading to a catastrophic loss of lives due to armed conflict.
It is perhaps time for a coherence in the strategy of United States, its allies and the wider world when it comes to North Korea and its leader.
It has to be a coldly pragmatic strategy that acknowledges that North Korea is now effectively a nuclear state, which mere condemnation and isolation will not reverse.
It has to become a strategy that- in the manner of its clear -eyed and practical engagement- faces that country with the responsibilities and indeed the grave danger posed to its own people and other peoples, by its stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
