The north korean dictator Kim Yong-un has just authorized the launch of an ICBM. The missile reached a height of 1741 miles and traveled a distance of over 900 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan. Strictly it can be classified as an IRBM. However as per the Laws of Motion enunciated by Sir Isaac Newton in case the angle of firing is changed i.e. lowered, the missile could cover a distance of almost 4000 miles. This makes the present launch an ICBM a matter of concern for the USA.
Despite this concern, the USA has not been able to do much.
The reason is that the biggest backers of the North Korean regime are China and Russia. The leaders of these two nations, President Xi and Putin met in Moscow and issued a Joint declaration terming the North Korean missile test "unacceptable". On the face of it, such a statement should please the USA, but if one reads the fine lines of the statement it holds the USA and South Korea equally responsible, according to Al Jazeera.
Joint statement
The joint statement issued in Moscow calls on the USA and the South to suspend their military exercises. It calls on the North to declare a moratorium on further missile tests. The statement shows its true colors when in a veiled reference to the USA, it says that other nations should not vitiate the atmosphere in North East Asia.
The statement also calls on the USA to dismantle its missile defense (THAAD system) as it is a threat to China and Russia and other nations. The joint statement has called for negotiations between the USA and the North to make the Korean peninsula a nuclear-free zone.
Backing the North
Russia and China have always backed the Korean communist regime.
China, in particular, holds tremendous leverage over Pyongyang as 90 percent of North Korean trade is with China. If the Chinese wanted to, they could have easily nipped the nuclear ambitions of North Korea decades back. For reasons best known to them, they did not do it. Maybe they used the North as a proxy to create trouble for the USA as a part of their grand strategic design.
An eye wash
The statement issued from Moscow by Putin and Xi can be termed an eye wash. China itself is facing intense pressure with U.S. warships moving close to Chinese islands as part of freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. In addition, Indian and Chinese troops are in a face-off at Dhokla at the trijunction between Tibet, Sikkim, and Bhutan. China claims this is because of the encouragement given by Trump to Modi during his last visit to the USA. The two leaders have tried to show that they support the Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The reality is different. America will have to factor in Chinese and Russian support for the North.
