Here is one possible explanation for Kim Jong-un’s most recent change of course.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2143171/north-koreas-nuclear-test-site-has-collapsed-and-may-be-why-kim-jong-unI wrote something about this issue here a few months ago when reports about multiple tunnel collapses at the Korean nuclear test site first started appearing in Japanese news sources last October.
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ttp://www.sciencechatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=129&t=33745The problem is that although Mantapsan is in a remote mountainous area, it is only about fifty miles from the border with China. The adjoining Chinese province of Jilin contains the Changbaishan mountain range which is an area of outstanding natural beauty, and is also the location of the popular Tianci Tourism hub.
Suffice to say, the Chinese authorities were not remotely pleased at the prospect of a radiological catastrophe on their own doorstep with prevailing winds blowing large quantites of radioactive dust over the border after Mount Mantap collapsed. (山
San/Shan means mountain in both Chinese and Korean).
The Chinese government allegedly sent a high-level delegation to North Korea just before Christmas and warned the North Korean regime that no more underground nuclear testing would be tolerated, and they threatened to terminate Kim’s regime if it continued.
The North Korean government have not yet finished the program of testing and development that would be required to fully miniaturise their thermonuclear weapons to the point where they can be fitted to viable ICBMs, and they are probably some distance away from achieving a MIRV (multiple independentlly targetable re-entry vehicle) capability too.
Kim Jong-un is therefore switching to a ‘Plan B’ diplomatic charm offensive.
BREAKING: North and South Korea will sign a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War this yearhttps://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/north-korea-south-korea-summit-intl/index.html