An Offer They Can’t Refuse

A few days ago, I offered a possible explanation for why North Korea launched seven missiles, despite the likely result that it would ultimately bring down an adverse response from the U.S., Japan, and other nations. According to my “Barrel of a Gun” Theory ©, North Korea launched those missiles to save face, to disguise an impending supplication as extortion for its domestic audience. And sure enough, North Korea is now demanding “protection” aid:

North Korea’s Senior Cabinet Counselor Kwon Ho-ung in his keynote speech hailed the impoverished country’s “Songun” or military-first ideology, which he claimed was helping the South protect its security and benefited “a vast majority” of South Koreans. Notable achievements of the Songun policy include Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and missile tests and mass starvation among its people for the sake of arming the military to the teeth. However, this was the first time the North has named South Koreans among its beneficiaries.

I simply can’t compete with phrasing like that….

Now, I don’t want to overstate this. Yes, the open demand for protection money is a new low, but North Korea is really demanding that South Korea go through with previous promises of aid, which isn’t a motivator to incure additional costs. But if there’s anything to my theory, you can expect additional demands shortly.