The message is clear enough: any attempt on Kim Jong Un’s life or the weapons that prop up his regime will lead to nuclear war
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskMr Kim seems to be growing tired of death threats. In a speech to parliament on September 8th he reiterated that his country would never give up the bomb as long as “nuclear weapons exist on earth and imperialism remains”. Notably, he promulgated a law clarifying when North Korea might use its nukes. They could now be launched “automatically and immediately” if the leadership or nuclear command structure were “placed in danger”.
This is an explicit statement of a “fail deadly” nuclear strategy, a promise that aggression will be met with automatic and unacceptable force. It is “a very traditional solution to a traditional problem”, says Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment, a think-tank in Washington. Those with their fingers on the button are caught in what Peter Feaver, an American political scientist, has called the “always/never dilemma”. They want assurance that the weapons will always be ready to go when needed, but will never be used without proper authorisation. Devolving power over nukes helps with the “always” but not the “never”, as it raises the risk of both unapproved and accidental use.