While views differ on precisely how Pyongyang is reading the escalating conflict, observers are united on one point: if there is ever to be a chance of drawing North Korea back to the table for denuclearisation talks, the diplomatic door must remain ajar.
But in Pyongyang, observers say the lesson is viewed through a singular prism: survival.
“North Korea has always pointed to the fate of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein as justification for never giving up its nuclear weapons,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.
It has learned a lesson; if you want to hold on to power, you never give up your nuclear weapons
“It has learned a lesson; if you want to hold on to power, you never give up your nuclear weapons,” he warned.
