Dead in the water

摘要

ON 17 April, North Korea's deputy ambassador to the UN gave a tense press conference. The US was insisting that North Korea scale down its nuclear programme, and this, said Kim In-ryong, had created a situation in which "thermonuclear war may break out at any moment". It was not the first time such warmongering talk had come from North Korean diplomats, but concerns over nuclear war have rarely been higher. Donald Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the country.