North Korea, as everyone knows, is secretive. So, we have to depend on the U.S. corporate press for our truth and perception of the young and crazy leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. But there are other sources of information such as South Korea and logic as taught by Aristotle in ancient Greece. It is also generally known that Kim likes VSOP French brandy and pretty, young women, one of whom is his wife. How crazy is that?

But, if Kim Jong Un is not so young and crazy, why is he suddenly testing new and long-range ballistic missiles to carry his nuclear warheads—27 more tests at last count in 2017? So far, they might reach only to Hawaii or Alaska, though not to Hollywood or San Diego. It could not be because of the joint U.S.–South Korea war games, which are now annual affairs. Nor could it be that the U.S. withdrew from the agreed framework by which the two countries were to normalize their relations in exchange for North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons. That withdrawal took place in 2003, coinciding with the “shock and awe” bombing of Iraq. 

So why has Kim Jong Un pressed the panic button, concluding with a missile test that flew 2,300 miles over the Pacific in September 2017? Let’s look at the backstory of the bombing and invasion of Iraq based on information given by the CIA informant Curveball. Saddam was captured in 2006 and ended up being hanged in 2006. A second back story concerns NATO warplanes forcing Qaddafi of Libya into the hands of the Benghazians and an even more horrible fate in 2011.

Now for the timing. In late 2016, North Korean cyber experts hacked into South Korean military computers and downloaded a ton of documents [OK, so it was only 235 gigabytes] that included the details of U.S. plans to assassinate Kim Jong Un and attack North Korea. The story came from the BBC, which got it from the Defense Committee of the South Korean National Assembly, not from Kim’s barber.

So, Kim is young and wears a non-conformist hair style, but he is not so crazy. He just wants a credible deterrent—maybe a missile that can reach the White House or Trump Tower. Alternately, we could sign a peace treaty with North Korea, ending the Korean War. China would be happy to act as a guarantor. 

[Mort Malkin is a resident of Milanville, PA. “Gadfly” is the name of a political/social satirical commentary series he has been writing for some years.]