Hi friends ! I am putting my article which got published in Korea Times under the "Thoughts of the Times".I have published a couple of articles in the same newspaper.If you like read today's article,which appeared on 20th April,1999. Thanks for reading..^^ North Korea뭩 Missile Threat : A Smart step ? People in the North Korea are starving, the economy is in doldrums, and its government is an international pariah. At such a moment, it most needs outside help. Outside help not to keep the well being of the nation but to keep the nation well ahead in the military might to threaten its neighbors especially Japan, South Korea and their ally, the United Sates. North could garner the outside help from United States, Japan and South Korea. It enraged the potential benefactors by testing a missile. According to a defector to South Korea, over 3 million people have died because of the food shortage. In such a critical and alarming situation, it was imperative for the North Korea to make a good deal with its benefactors. Six months after the North Korea shocked the world by firing a rocket over Japan and later threatened to fire more. Japan interpreted it as the direct threat to the her sovereignty. The unanswered question remained was whether the move by North Korea was a blunder or a show of geo-political smart? The answer of this question depended largely on the outcome of the Pyongyang - Washington talks on the nuke site inspection and food aid to the starving nation. Definitely Japan was the most worried nation by the launch of the so called Satellite which Japanese claimed as firing of the Taepodong 1 missile, that can hit any part of Japan and can penetrate deeply in China. What could have been the reason of firing the rocket? Maybe the best answer is, the desperateness of the North Korea to get the aid from Washington, Tokyo and Seoul and to muscle its capability of showing the might that it can put the satellite in the space. Though the debate remains about the launch satellite or missile but one thing that clearly showed was the technological advancement and North Korea뭩 ability to use the two stage rocket. In the US, the firing of the rocket strengthened the hands of the critics of the president Clinton뭩 policies towards North Korea. They argued that the Clinton administration was too soft on the North Korean government and called into question the 1994 pact under which North Korea is being compensated for giving up its nuclear weapons program. The test also prompted Japan to have close cooperation in the defense ties with the United States. Japan also funded the spy satellite project, greater cooperation between Japan and US on the missile defense In the months since the test, however, the policy makers seem to have come to the approach as before the firing : it뭩 better to engage North Korea than to isolate it. Tokyo has also rolled back most of the punishment it imposed on North Korea immediately after the test firing of the rocket over Japan. Tokyo, meanwhile, is signaling a more active approach towards North Korea and Seoul is continuing the "comprehensive package" to encourage North to give up its aggressive ways. The one glaring lesson form the test is that North Korea뭩 missile capabilities are much more advanced than what the intelligence sources had reported. The Taepodong 1 is capable of hitting all of Japan, deep into china and can reach the United States. Though it뭩 not clear that this missile can threaten the mainland United Sates or not but definitely it can achieve that capability in near future. North can also threaten the interests of the United States widely in the South-East Asia. Such a capability combined with fears that North Korea is using an underground site for the development of nuclear weapons could make a wider package deal with North Korea even more urgent imperative. Undoubtedly, the missile test by North Korea was a gambit to get a wider compensation deal than the one offered under the 1994 pact. Through all of this, one major player has held constant : South Korea. Since taking the office a year ago, president Kim Dae-Jung has pushed the "sunshine policy" of greater economic and diplomatic contact with the North instead of the political isolation. The missile tests were an effort by North Korea to show it is still a force to be reckoned with despite the famine, prevailing poverty and diplomatic isolation. Pyongyang had a very strong incentive to show the world it is still robust in some "critical areas" of the advance technology and missile development program. Moreover, the North has shown its technological advancement and capability to launch a two stage rocket and to put something in the orbit and can be a good dealer with its antagonists on this issue. What do you think?^^ Write ur commments back. Bye for now` :) for u all!