North Korea Postpones Nuclear Showdown With US

North Korea did not go through with a possible nuclear test Saturday, after the United States demonstrated a credible threat of military force in the region and China increased economic restrictions against its economically dependent ally.

Instead North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a military parade to celebrate the April 15 birthday of his country’s founding leader the late Kim Il Sung, the country’s most important holiday known as the Day of the Sun.

“Kim Jong Un had planned a fight with the U.S., but decided to give up the plan,” said North Korea defector and analyst Ahn Chan-il with the World Institute for North Korean Studies.

Military pressure

Expectations of an imminent North Korean nuclear test grew this week based on reports of recent activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and Pyongyang’s pattern of conducting provocative military tests to coincide with the birthday of the nation’s founding leader.

Since January 2016, Pyongyang has acted with little restraint, conducting two nuclear tests and attempting numerous medium- and long-range ballistic missile launches. This year Kim Jong Un indicated that his nation is in the final testing phase of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could potentially hit the U.S. mainland.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, has placed a high priority on preventing North Korea from developing a credible long-range nuclear ballistic missile capability that could directly threaten U.S. national security.

The U.S. Pacific Command this week sent the USS Carl Vinson nuclear-powered aircraft carrier naval formation that includes guided missile destroyers and aircraft squadrons to the region.

And last week’s U.S. airstrikes against Syria for using chemical weapons added credibility to statements made by the Trump administration that it is prepared to take military action against North Korea as well. Following the Syrian strike, North Korea’s KCNA news agency said the Trump administration, “has entered the path of open threat and blackmail.”

A temporary pause

While Pyongyang seems to have backed down to U.S. military pressure for now, it is likely only a temporary pause.

The North’s military parade Saturday prominently displayed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) for the first time, demonstrating its own increasingly advanced and diverse military capabilities.