Analysts have long viewed North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons as primarily a defense measure, an insurance policy of sorts to avoid ending up like Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan.

But under Kim Jong Un’s leadership in recent years, the DPRK’s military ambitions appear to be expanding to purposes beyond just deterring outside attack, with significant implications for conflict prevention on the peninsula.

The country now boasts at least five different intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), four intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM), five submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and 10 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM), according to the