home > by publication type > daily analysis > North Korea Missile Tests Draw World's Ire
Email
| Prepared by: | Esther Pan |
|---|
North Korea's missile tests sparked condemnation. (AP/Lee Jin-man)
In defiance of international warnings, North Korea test-fired at least seven missiles into the Sea of Japan (NYT). The missile tests came in the face of stern warnings from the United States, Japan, and China, and brought immediate international condemnation (AP). Japan, which feels particularly threatened by Pyongyang (BBC), responded by banning the docking of a ferry that is the main transport link between Japan and North Korea (Asia Times) and called for additional sanctions (al-Jazeera). At the request of Japan's government, the United Nations convened an emergency session to discuss the North Korea tests (AP). The White House called the missile launches "provocative" but said they did not threaten Americans. CFR President Richard Haass says on the Today show that Pyongyang is reminding the world it is a threat (Video clip).
North Korea's long-range Taepodong 2 missile, the focus of particular concern because it could potentially reach the United States, exploded in mid-air (LAT). The other missiles fired—up to ten—were reportedly a mix of short-range Scud and medium-range Rodong missiles. Australian officials report that North Korea may be preparing to test even more missiles (al-Jazeera). The BBC profiles North Korea's missile program, believed to include some 800 ballistic missiles that could potentially reach targets as far away as Alaska or Australia. The Asia Times details Pyongyang's history of missiles sales to rogue states around the world and lists its arsenal of missiles and their ranges. MSNBC offers an interactive feature on the North Korean arsenal, and a 2005 Congressional Research Service explores the debate over missile defense. The New York Times says in this editorial that, with its tests, North Korea once again proves itself a "rogue actor." And CFR Fellow Michael Levi tells Bernard Gwertzman in this interview that the real threat comes not from North Korea's missiles, but its nuclear weapons program.
Christopher Hill, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in Congressional testimony June 29 that while a North Korean missile launch would be a "serious international security matter" and would raise questions about the future of the Six-Party Talks, the United States is prepared to return to the table with no preconditions.
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
In Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short-term and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.
This report lays out a thoughtful agenda for U.S. policy toward the Democratic Republic of Congo, arguing that what happens there should matter to the United States--for humanitarian reasons as well as economic and strategic ones.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
This report argues that the United States must lead with domestic action on climate change and proposes a U.S. negotiating strategy for a global UN climate agreement that includes commitments from all major economies, while also promoting a less formal Partnership for Climate Cooperation that would focus the world's largest emitters on implementing aggressive emissions reductions.
This Task Force report examines changes in Latin America and in U.S. influence there, while taking account of the region's enduring importance to the United States. The Task Force offers an agenda for U.S. policy toward Latin America and identifies four critical areas that should provide the basis of a new U.S. approach.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR.
A selection of Foreign Affairs pieces by and about the preeminent political scientist of the last half century.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1-212-434-9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
To request permission to reuse Council materials, please email publications@cfr.org or fax +1.212.434.9859.
Please include the complete information of the requested work—author, title, sections/pages to be copied or reprinted, and number of copies to be made—along with a brief description of where and how you would like to reuse the work.
You may also request permission for Council material through Copyright Clearance Center. For more information, please click on the link below.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
Global Economy 