Tighter sanctions unlikely to defuse tensions on Korean peninsula

US President Donald Trump's strategy of ever tighter sanctions on North Korea to force Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles is an obvious failure. Last week's intercontinental ballistic missile test put paid to any prospect that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would give up his weapons systems.

Pyongyang's Hwasong-15 missile rose to an altitude of about 4,475 km and flew 950 km during its 54-minute flight. In theory, this missile would be able to hit any part of the United States, including New York and Washington DC, the American capital. Several western analysts have expressed doubts that this missile is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and dismissed its re-entry guidance systems. It is unlikely to work in combat conditions, they say. Nevertheless, everyone agreed the test shows that the Kim regime is making progress faster on both nuclear and missile technology than anyone in the West expected.

Indeed, even before last week's test, it was clear that a nuclear-tipped missile launched from North Korea could strike Los Angeles in 30 minutes; no wonder Hawaii is one of the first US states to comprehensively plan for a missile attack. A North Korean missile would arrive within 20 minutes in Honolulu.