The Absence of Consensus
Korea Chair Snapshot
February 8, 2016
- The latest missile test this weekend (February 7) indicates DPRK fluency with long-range missile launch technology -- they know how to put a payload into orbit. Unclear is whether they can accurately guide a warhead back through the atmosphere to a target thousands of miles away.
- The growing absence of consensus between the United States and China/Russia is evident in the protracted length of time it takes to obtain a UN Security Council resolution after a North Korean nuclear test or long-range missile launch.
- During the Bush Administration, the average amount of time for a UNSCR to pass after a DPRK nuclear weapons test or missile launch was 7.5 days.
- During the Obama administration, the average number of days between a UNSCR and DPRK provocation is 27 days.
- The chart below, from CSIS's database of North Korean provocations, details this observation. It has been 33 days since the January 6 nuclear test with no UNSCR yet from the UNSC.
