March 09, 2017
The Ultimate Missile Shield: The U.S.-South Korea Alliance?
The flurry of news stories about North Korea’s latest salvo of missile tests gives Kim Jong-un the media coverage he craves and diverts attention from enduring strategic realities. Four extended-range Scud missiles are broadly construed to highlight Pyongyang’s inexorable march toward acquiring a long-range nuclear arsenal that will transform the balance of power in Northeast Asia.
The news is all the more jarring when surrounding powers are embroiled in their own domestic issues: impeached South Korean president Park Geun-hye is being implicated in a corruption scandal involving Samsung; the United States is convulsing over a mystery triggered by Russia’s interference in the American electoral process; and China is completing critical political proceedings enroute to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party later this year.
We need to avoid manufacturing a crisis. Headlines tell us the “shocking” news that North Korea is apparently testing missiles aimed at U.S. and allied targets. Indeed, what did we think they were aiming at?
Read the full article at The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
“The Ayatollah Has No Clothes” – with Rich Goldberg and Richard Fontaine
Podcast
Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security, joins Call Me Back to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran. Listen to the full episode on Call Me ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Lost Decade - The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power with Richard Fontaine
Podcast
Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, joins Coffee & Conflict to discuss his book The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power. He dives int...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Sharper: Allies and Partners
Commentary
Amid intensifying geopolitical challenges, the United States is finding new ways to address security issues by cultivating and strengthening alliances and partnerships. How ca...
By Gwendolyn Nowaczyk & Charles Horn
-
What Can the US Expect From Sri Lanka’s New President?
Commentary
Washington views Sri Lanka as a “lynchpin” of its Indo-Pacific strategy and seeks a partner committed to strengthening the democratic process and economic governance while pro...
By Keerthi Martyn
