On September 30, IPSI Nonresident Senior Fellow Naoko Aoki offered comments in an NK News article on “What to make of North Korea’s missile launching spree around Harris visit.” Aoki suggests that, while events such as Harris’ visit to Seoul and the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) may have motivated North Korea to conduct missile tests, “we shouldn’t assume that they [tests] would not have taken place” otherwise. As for what to expect in response from South Korea and the United States, Aoki states, “Unfortunately, the geopolitical situation is such that a strong response from the U.N. Security Council appears unlikely.”
