It’s been a busy start to 2024 for North Korea. In less than a month, North Korea has tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile, topped with a “hypersonic warhead”; a new strategic cruise missile; and a previously-seen “nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.” All that comes on top of leader Kim Jong Un publicly abandoning the goal of reunification or reconciliation with the South, instead labelling South Korea a “permanent enemy”
What do all these moves mean for security and stability on the Korean Peninsula?
In this video, recorded on January 26, The Diplomat Shannon Tiezzi interviews Ankit Panda, the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and co-host of The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast. They discuss North Korea’s military build-up, the international response, and the potential for South Korea to go nuclear.