North Korea's renewed flurry of missile tests have, so far, been met here in Tokyo with a bit of shrug. It's all very different from August 2017 when Japan awoke to the sound of air raid sirens. Without warning North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) over the top of Japan into the Pacific Ocean. It was an audacious act. This time North Korea's missiles have all been short range, and have landed in the sea, well away from the Japanese coast. Kim Jong-un appears to be holding back, for now. But that could change if he doesn't get the result he wants. So, what does Kim Jong-un want? Speak to military analysts and they'll tell you these latest launches show North Korea is moving rapidly down the road to a full and effective nuclear deterrent. "From my perspective it was predictable," says Professor Kim Dong Yup, a former South Korean naval commander. "We get surprised because we underestimate North Korean technology and assume i
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