In the thick of Iran War: Kim Jong-Un is needling Trump with his missiles, but US Prez is desperate to woo him

Even as the Iran war continues unabated, North Korea Saturday fired no less than 10 ballistic missiles, reported Reuters, while the US military is undertaking a joint exercise with ally South Korea.

Reports also said that earlier, Japan had also reported a North Korean projectile, most likely a ballistic missile, to have taken flight and fallen into the sea outside Tokyo’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

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Why it matters:

The launches matter since the time is suspect.

· While the Iran war is on, the timing of the launches couldn’t have been more irritating for the Americans, especially President Donald Trump. It seems Kim Jong-un is deliberately needling Trump.

· Moreover, Kim Jong-un has fired the same kind of missiles that the US is building its ‘Golden Dome’ defence system against and which initiative Japan is most likely to join.

Japanese publication Yomiuri has suggested that Japan Prime Minister Takaichi would discuss joining the initiative during her Washington visit slated from March 19.

Pete Hegseth, chief of Pentagon, had last year billed the system as one which could save America from any foe.

The context:

· Trump has been trying to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for quite sometime now. Last they met was 2019. It is expected that Trump might want allies to set up a meet with Kim while on his Asia tour.

· South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met US prez Trump and discussed if North Korean Kim could be wooed to stop expanding his arsenal and quit his nuclear dreams. This was reported by Yonhap news agency.

Golden Quote:

· “President Trump said he was curious if Kim [Jong-un] wants to talk to the US or him and asked about my views on that,” Kim was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

State of Play:

· There have been numerous reports that Trump wants to meet Kim Jong-un on Chinese soil in Summit-level talks.

· The North Korean premier summed up the efforts: “Meeting [Kim Jong-un] would be good. It’s really good to meet. But it could happen when we go to China this time, or it might not, or it could even be later, couldn’t it?”

Big Picture:

· Trump met Kim Jong-un twice during his first presidency: 2018 and 2019. Then there was a meeting over the DMZ or the demilitarized zone, but that too remained a photo-op. So, there have been no fruits to America’s outreach to Pyongyang.

· But, Trump’s rapport with Kim seems to have survived and that is what America is eyeing, especially to put it on full display to China on Chinese soil. America wants to signal to China that it can reach out to its most trusted ally and client and disrupt its sphere of influence. So, meeting with Kim Jong-un seems like leveraging Pyongyang against China.

Reading the fine print:

· The possibility of Trump-Kim meeting has been prepared by the Iran war.

· The Golden Dome system is preparing to blunt Chinese edge on the front of hypersonic projectiles. China has DF-17, which flied at Mach 5 to 10 with a range of 1800+ kilometers. No interceptor so far can stop it accurately. The Golden Dome is being built to intercept precisely these kinds of projectiles. It is Japan that will be the backbone of this system since the American system have been depleted by its onslaught on Iran, with Tokyo’s defence coffers boosted to 9 trillion yuan.