North Korea needs security assurances from foes: Columnist

Press TV has conducted an interview with Einar Tangen, author and columnist from Beijing, about launching of three ballistic missiles by North Korea just over a week after threatening a physical response to the United States’ deployment of a missile system in South Korea.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How do you see this latest ballistic missile test by North Korea? The United States and South Korea of course are saying that it is a threat with the North saying that basically they're showing their flexing their muscles because of feeling the threat from the US and South Korea. How do you see it?

Tangen: Well, unfortunately it's just part of a series of escalating tensions that's been happening in that area. I mean most recently we've had the South China Sea six days ago South Korea agreed to implement the missile defense shield from the United States. This is seen as hostile.

Obviously, Pyongyoung has been saying that they will retaliate. It's very very unfortunate that these things are happening in the backdrop of increasing tensions and a lot of people feel that the US is not being responsible in terms of stirring up a lot of trouble that's involved.

Press TV: What is it going to take to deescalate the situation in the Koreas because as you’ve said obviously the attention has increased? What's the key here?

Tangen: Well, unfortunately it depends on who you're talking to from China, from US, from Korea, from Japan. I think what they're looking for is denuclearization option. Unfortunately, for North Korea that's the only thing that they are clinging to. They’re looking for that and security assurance that their regime will continue and that there will be no direct attacks on it either from South Korea or from the United States.

There are some hopeful signs though in terms of this nuclear drive has dried up a lot of the funding that's been going into the military.  And there seems to be a shift within North Korea towards creating more economic prosperity for the common people as you know in the past it was always a military first option there and now it might be changing and that's what I think a lot of people in Beijing are looking at.

And north Korea has bought some time that there is increasing ... You have to remember that this young ruler of North Korea has not been invited to North Korea nor has Xi Jinping gone and seen this despite the fact that he's been together with the South Korean president as part on three occasions.

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