On May 25^th, North Korea test-fired three missiles off the east coast after U.S. President Joe Biden left the region after a five-day tour in Asia. The armed test occurred after Biden announced his promise to defend Seoul and Tokyo against Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital and largest city. Pyongyang has been the site of nuclear and missile arsenal testing since the early 1990s.

The suspected missile fire would be North Korea’s first I.C.B.M. launch in two months, due to the stalled nuclear diplomacy in the United States. An I.C.B.M. is an inter-continental ballistic missile, each of which holds a minimum range of 5,600 km. Only the United States, Russia, and China reportedly have access to land-based missiles that can fire within that length. According to reporting agency N.P.R., North Korea claimed to have test-launched its longest-range missile in March, with the hopes of eventually reaching American soil.

After the reported missile launch in May, the South Korean government held an emergency national security council meeting to discuss the suspected I.C.B.M. and two short-range ballistic missile firings. “North Korea’s sustained provocations can only result in stronger and faster South Korea-U.S. combined deterrence and can only deepen North Korea’s international isolation,” the government said in a statement. “(Our) government is maintaining constant readiness to strongly and effectively respond to any kind of North Korean provocation.”

According to South Korea’s military, the suspected I.C.B.M. reached a maximum height of 539 kilometres, while also travelling a further 358.88 kilometres east after being fired. The Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that North Korea had supposedly lost the second missile twelve miles after launch, while their third missile travelled a distance of 687 kilometres on an apogee of 59.55 kilometres.

To demonstrate the worrying possible outcome of North Korea’s missile use, South Korea and the U.S. fired two surface-to-surface missiles. Supposedly, South Korea and its allies had insight into North Korea’s missile launch before they were fired. To display power, South Korea’s air force showcased thirty fully-armed F15 fighter jets that paraded along a runway.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command ensured that North Korea’s missile launches do not pose an immediate threat to the United States and surrounding countries. However, attention should remain on North Korea’s weapon usage.

North Korea became an official dictatorship in the late 1940s. Since then, the country has become a place of hostility and isolation, with residents living under strict rules. For example, in November 2020, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un demanded citizens abandon their pet dogs to ensure that restaurants have sufficient meat.

Although it is poor and under-developed, North Korea places significant economic value on developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Additionally, sanctions imposed by other countries have created economic hostility, leaving North Koreans to barely survive. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, approximately 10 million people living in North Korea are malnourished. These statistics are severe: the country’s total population is only 25 million.

Meanwhile, due to North Korea’s strict punishment policy, thousands of citizens are sent to labour camps when minor infractions or rules are broken.

North Korea’s significant isolation, secrecy, lack of humanitarian assistance, and strict laws surrounding travel are dire, and its citizens continue to suffer. U.N. assistance is needed. Other nations must maintain a close eye on North Korea’s military power, to ensure that its missile capacities do not become dangerous.