If there is any chance that North Korea's nuclear muscle flexing vis-à-vis the rest of the world might actually yield a missile launch, it might happen on Monday, as the country marks the 101st birthday of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, who died in 1994, and the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. Dates have great significance for the North Koreans, leaving South Korea, Japan and the United States in anxious anticipation of North Korea's next move, especially in light of recent assessments suggesting that if Kim Jong Un's posturing leads to no action, he would be perceived as a paper tiger. "His father, Kim Jong Il, always knew how to crank up tensions just enough to get [international] aid when he needed it," Kim Sun, a political science doctoral student at the University of Seoul, told Israel Hayom. "[Kim Jong Un] has different aspirations he wants North Korea to be recognized as a nuclear state." According to Kim, Pyongyang hopes that by holding a missile test, South Korea and the world powers will give it the recognition it desires, rather than engage it in battle. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Sunday with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo to discuss regional tensions, climate change and cybersecurity. "We cannot in any way allow North Korea to possess nuclear weapons," Kishida told reporters after the meeting. "We agreed North Korea must stop its provocative speech and behavior." Japan and the United States, he added, plan to hold senior working-level consultations on the matter. Kerry said the parties need to work at "the highest levels of government" to bring about a peaceful resolution to the situation: "Hopefully North Korea will hear our words and recognize that for the future of its people and for the future of stability in the region
there is a clear course of action they're invited to take, and they will find in us ready partners," he said.
