The North Korean Surprise

Yesterday the People's Republic in North Korea did a Big Naughty.

They ran two tests, on the same day, one of a short-range missile, above the ground I assume, and one  of a nuclear bomb device, underground, and they did this without telling anybody beforehand.

This was in stark contrast to the way that, a few months ago, they orchestrated a weeks-long exercise in yet another session of the gorilla-like chest-thumping and roars and screeches that characterize any posturing that has to do with atom bombs, climaxed by launching another missile with a somewhat longer range.   Without ratcheting down their rage one bit, Japan and its friends declared that that launch was a total failure, but North Korea said, "No, it wasn't.  It was a resounding success.  We put a satellite up in orbit, and now it's broadcasting back some patriotic songs," that it seems only they could hear.

This time the usual parties are outraged by this inconsiderate and therefore obscene lack of advance notice, and the word "condemn" is again being badly overworked.  Those parties, thus cheated out of 50 percent of the fulminations that they could've made, include the U.S., though no part of it borders North Korea, plus several somewhat closer countries, namely South Korea, Japan, and, though at some distance itself and totally devoid of anything that rates it as good material to be hit with a guided missile, Australia.

This Latimes article gives a lot of the ins and outs behind the feelings of indignation and behind what  could'have been in the North Koreans' minds.

The main and actually the only thing that is interesting about this is that it may all be Hillary Clinton's fault.

She is believed to be  the Obama Administration's Secretary of State, and apparently the North Koreans shook their nuclear fist yet again to get some attention, because she has been badly remiss in going over there and sweet-talking them, and bomb-carrying missiles always get some attention, if only for a short while. 

I don't blame the North Koreans.

Meanwhile it is also thought that the tests were to make the North Korean military feel good with this muscle-flexing, because Kim Jong-il, the present leader, is falling behind the guff, and he  is preparing the way for the youngest of his three sons, Kim Jong-un, to take over.

Actually, that's  interesting, too -- that the youngest of the  three  is considered to be the most capable.   But the  article didn't reveal Yong-un's age.   I wanted to know what,  among the experts in the fields of geopolitics and  gorilla chest-thumping,  their idea of "young" might be, because that could be trouble.