Missile launch is North Korea’s exit strategy, analysts say

Alexander F. Yuan/AP

North Koreans visit a flower show Friday featuring thousands of Kimilsungia flowers, named after the late leader Kim Il Sung, while models of a rocket and missiles are also displayed in Pyongyang.

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

Faced with annoyed allies and unblinking enemies, North Korea is likely to pull the plug on the current crisis by test-firing a missile or two and declaring victory ahead of a national celebration on Monday, analysts say.

After weeks of escalating tensions and threatening nuclear war, shooting off a missile that causes no damage will give Kim Jong Un the opportunity to save face with his people -- and appease his military -- without inviting serious retaliation, experts say.

"It's all a kind of Kabuki theater," said Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute, a libertarian Washington think tank.

Observers caution, however, that with so much unknown about the political situation inside the secretive rogue state, it's possible that North Korea could take more aggressive action that would goad a fed-up South Korea into a forceful reaction.

Keep reading on worldnews >>