North Korea raises the stakes

North Korea escalated its threats against the U.S. and South Korea this week, and officials in Seoul warned that the rogue state was preparing to test a new long-range Musudan missile. That rocket is thought to have a range of 2,100 miles, making it capable of hitting all of Japan as well as American military bases on Guam. To counter the threat, the Pentagon moved two missile-defense ships closer to the Korean Peninsula, and Adm. Sam Locklear told Congress that his forces would intercept any missiles launched toward the U.S. or its allies.

In a further provocation, North Korea closed down the Kaesong industrial park, a joint operation with South Korea that had provided hard cash for the impoverished country. Pyongyang then urged foreigners to evacuate South Korea, claiming the region was “inching close to a thermonuclear war.”

War with the U.S. is the last thing North Korea wants, said Andrei Lankov in The New York Times. Its young dictator, Kim Jong Un, isn’t suicidal—“he is known for his love of basketball, pizza, and other pleasures of being alive.” The same logic applies to his advisers, “old survivors in the byzantine world of North Korean politics who love expensive cars and good brandy.”

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To understand why Kim is being so provocative, “go back to the murder of Muammar Qaddafi,” said Robert Baer in Time.com. The way the North Koreans look at it, the Libyan leader gave up his nukes under pressure from the U.S., which then proceeded to help the locals overthrow him. Qaddafi was then killed by a mob. By threatening to go nuclear, the North is sending America a clear message: Stay away.

It’s China, not the U.S., that Kim should be worried about, said Connor Simpson in TheAtlantic.com. Chinese President Xi Jinping this week said he would not allow the region to be thrown “into chaos for selfish gain.” Xi didn’t identify North Korea by name, but it’s clear to whom he was referring. China is the nation’s only backer. And “when your benefactor is this mad at you, and you’re broke, that can be problematic.”