There seems to be a competition between the three potential oftencited flashpoints that could engulf the Asian region into a regional conflagration. These are the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and North Korea’s missile threats. All three are dangerous for the region.

This article shall dwell on the recent activities of North Korea, where Kim Jong-un has chosen a rather adventurous path to take the region to the precipice. In recent months, North Korea’s missile firings across its southern border as well as over Japan’s air space have caused consternation, which is accelerating at a rapid pace. As the world entered a new year, Pyongyang went on an overdrive and fired 200 artillery shells towards the South’s border island near their disputed maritime border in violation of a fragile 2018 accord.

Under the 2018 agreement, the two Koreas are required to halt live-fire exercises and aerial surveillance in the no-fly and buffer zones along their border. The firing of artillery shells near the disputed sea boundary off South Korea’s western coast prompted the South to conduct its own live-wire drills. This was the latest in the escalation of tensions between the rival neighbours. Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister and his key ally mocked the South’s ability to detect the weapon launches and threatened to launch a military strike immediately in response to any provocations.

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Again, on 6 and 7 January, North Korea fired more than 60 and 90 artillery rounds respectively. The North Korean army clarified that the firings did not pose any threat to the South as the firing drills were conducted parallel to the border.

Pyongyang claimed that the artillery firings from Jangsan Cape and Deungsan Cape toward the Northern Limit Line, both in the North’s south-western........

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