During the night of Monday, February 20, North Korea test-fired two ballistic robots off the country's east coast.
The test launches are the latest in a row from North Korea, which in 2022 conducted more robot tests than ever before.
At the same time, relations with neighboring South Korea have deteriorated since South Korea got a conservative government in May that promised a tougher attitude towards North Korea.
- Right now it's a stalemate, I think.
The US has its attention on Ukraine and the South China Sea, says Hans Blix, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Develop own nuclear weapons
The North Korean regime has also said it will develop its nuclear weapons and has threatened to use them against South Korea.
A consequence of the continued nuclear threat is that South Korea and Japan may want to develop their own nuclear weapons, says Hans Blix.
- It is a very unpleasant perspective.
It is possible that South Korea and Japan do not feel very secure with the US and may want to develop nuclear weapons themselves.
Then the temperature in the Far East rises.
Today, South Korea is protected by the US nuclear arsenal, which distances itself from South Korea's plans to deploy its own nuclear weapons.
Billström: Seriously
Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) takes a serious view of North Korea's continued provocations.
- We fully support the resolutions that have been issued which state that North Korea should carry out a final, irreversible and verifiable disarmament of its nuclear weapons programme, Billström told the Foreign Office.
Hear Hans Blix about North Korea's nuclear threat in the clip above. You can see the entire Foreign Office: The Dictator's Daughter, which also raises the question of whether Kim Ju Ae is North Korea's next leader, on SVT Play from 8pm or 10pm on SVT2.