In The Driver's Seat

"This proposal has been sent to all the embassies in Pyongyang. We are now trying to clarify the situation. We asked our North Korean neighbours a few questions that need to be asked in this situation.
"We are very much worried by inciting of tensions, even though it's verbal so far."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

April 15, 2012, file photo, a North Korean vehicle carrying a missile passes by during a mass military parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. AP FILE PHOTO

South Korea's security officials are of the opinion that North Korea is preparing to launch a test, or produce some other controversial move after Wednesday, the date at which North Korea has suggested that foreign embassies remove their staff from Pyongyang. Japan has reacted by ordering its armed forces to instantly shoot down any North Korean missile that may head toward its territory on the basis of that speculation.

To that end, Japan has prepared Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles to be deployed in the Sea of Japan. Japan is determined not to be panicked by North Korean provocative moves. But in fact, because of the very uncertainty of how the pugnacious nation will next provoke the international community and more specifically its near neighbours, there is a certain level of unease approaching panic at the very thought of matters swiftly going very, very awry.

"The British Embassy in Pyongyang received a communication from the North Korean government this morning saying that the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organizations in the country in the event of conflict from April 10", Britain's Foreign Office stated several days ago. Consequently Britain is "considering next steps", with no immediate plans to withdraw from Pyongyang.

The tension is palpable. The past few weeks have been fraught with suspense and uncertainty, and it certainly does appear as though Kim Jong-un is enjoying himself immensely. Posters reading "Forward to the ultimate victory under the leadership of the great party!", and "Not with words but with arms", and "Higher, faster", have gone up on the streets in Pyongyang. North Korean civilians may feel their government is protecting them from the malign intentions of its enemies.

In this undated photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, a South Korean sea-to-land cruise missile is fired from a submarine during a drill. A Pentagon official said Saturday that it has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for next week amid mounting tensions with North Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry/Associated Press)

 

And this clumsy manipulation of his own population may be the real reason for all the sabre-rattling, or it may not be. The unreasoning rage evinced over the latest wrist-slaps by the United Nations over the 'satellite'-carrying medium-range missile, and the third nuclear test, vaunted proudly as the successful and powerful miniaturization of an atomic bomb leading to the capacity to mount nuclear tipped missiles for offensive purposes, has upset the calm of the two Koreas.

As far as Sweden is concerned, remarking on a meeting North Korea's foreign ministry had with foreign diplomats, "It was a meeting that dealt with the security situation in the country, where the North Koreans asked whether there was any need for assistance in case of an evacuation", explained Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Teo Zetterman. Bland, blase, and nothing out of the ordinary; typically Swedish.

More to the point, why all the teeth-gnashing and bellicose warnings of fire and brimstone to be rained down on South Korea and U.S. facilities on Guam?  Enough uncertainty surrounds the issue and the general hysteria over what will next be announced by the pyromaniac-minded little nuclear tyrant to have Washington decide to delay its long-scheduled intercontinental ballistic missile test scheduled to take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base, until next month.

At which time all will be sweetness and light, and the go-ahead assured? North Korea's latest tantrum dictating notice from the world's greatest powers vindicated?

Kim Jong-un's image makers seek to portray the leader as a tough guy with his finger on the nuclear trigger Photo: AFP