Series: North Korean Missile Launches: Their Aims 1

North Korea has been conducting missile tests since the end of September, launching several missiles between November 2 and 5, and on November 3, it fired a ballistic missile and the J-Alert sounded again. The Japanese administration was in disarray, with Defense Minister Hamada apologizing and Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno explaining the situation.
We spoke with an expert on North Korean affairs about the situation and future developments in the country, which has conducted a series of missile tests.

　We did so, and they responded that there were multiple causes for the missile launches. In this issue, we will take a deeper look at the problems pointed out by the missile launches.

　When we asked the Korean affairs experts about North Korea’s aims regarding the latest missile launch test, they replied, “North Korea’s internal situation is influencing it. In fact, the situation inside North Korea continues to be difficult, and some people are starving to death due to food shortages and other problems. This is a matter of discontent for the people, and for the regime, it could be a coup d’état aimed at overthrowing the regime. Therefore, the Kim Jong-un regime has exploited the missile tests. By conducting a series of missile tests, Kim Jong-un is hoping to build momentum for an imminent war, and to strengthen internal cohesion by playing politics of fear on the grounds of war. The war will require the entire nation to confront the war, and the regime will be in a position where it will not be able to talk about its dissatisfaction with the regime, and it will be able to turn the focus of citizens’ discontent toward the enemy,” he said.
　North Korea’s food shortage has worsened this year, and people are starving to death. A representative of a North Korean aid group said, “Businessmen who are developing North Korean businesses and the U.S. side all say the same thing,” and “The ‘march of hardship’ has come again, and North Korean scholars are saying, ‘We have experienced the march of hardship twice in our lives,'” which we also published.
The poorer a country is, the more likely it is that the discontent of daily life, such as food shortages, will lead to a popular uprising and the use of force against the regime.
Once upon a time, when I asked another expert on North Korean affairs if there was a possibility of a coup, he replied, “For a coup to succeed, the military or secret police would have to stage a coup. In Thailand, the military and in Romania, the secret police have launched coups d’etat and succeeded. In the case of North Korea, however, a system to control the military and the secret police, the Ministry of National Security and Protection, has been established, and there is no element of a successful coup d’etat anytime soon,” he said.
We did not expect that one of the factors behind North Korea’s string of missile launches was its response to the people’s discontent. The people’s livelihoods are being threatened to such an extent that when I think about the fact that “North Korean citizens are facing starvation and death,” I can only wonder if there is anything that can be done to help them.
The fact that North Korea is launching missiles one after another means that it is spending so much money on fuel and materials, and if that money could be used for food, hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved. Recently, trains connecting Russia and North Korea have resumed service. We hope that wheat and other supplies will flow from Russia to North Korea, and that people will be able to eat.