What drives North Korean missile testing — Ep. 267

North Korea News Podcast

Throughout this year, North Korea has repeatedly framed its weapons tests as simple reactions to U.S.-ROK efforts to restart military exercises and boost deterrence. It claims its long-range missile launches, sortie flybys, artillery drills and other military activities are necessary defensive moves against U.S. “hostile policy.” But Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia, says the primary driver of North Korean missile testing is actually technical — not the action or inaction of Washington or Seoul. He joins the NK News Podcast to discuss a range of issues on the peninsula and in the region, including why this historic year of missile tests isn’t a game changer, how AUKUS is oriented around DPRK threats and whether Australia is the best place to wait out nuclear war. Gordon Flake is the founding CEO of the Perth USAsia Center at the University of Western Australia. He is also governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, co-chair of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and was previously director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America, amid other affiliations. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.