North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang in April this year. Photo / AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang in April this year. Photo / AP
He has been held up to ridicule, endless memes and mockery.
But if the world didn't take Kim Jong-un seriously enough before, then it certainly is now.
North Korea this week took a major step forward in its missile programme after test-launching an ICBM in defiance of the world.
The test, the first of its kind by North Korea, raised speculation the DPRK is now capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to places as far away as northern Australia and Alaska, blindsiding many who believed it was some way off getting this far.
New York-based political analyst and Asian specialist Sean King said things have suddenly got a lot more serious in regards to North Korea.
"The launch, a truly successful ICBM or not, is a long overdue wakeup call that's been decades in the making," he told news.com.au.
Kim Jung Un using binoculars to apparently watch the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14. Photo / AP
"Not enough of us have always taken North Korea as seriously as we should, as we haven't always understood the Kim regime for the evil ultranationalist cult and global organised crime network that it is."
King also said the US Cold War era playbook doesn't apply here as "Kim's inner circle won't even listen to friends like Moscow and Beijing".
King also said the Cuban missile crisis was a major turning point in this regard because then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung saw Russia as having sold out Cuba.
"Hence Pyongyang's long craved its own nuclear arsenal, so as to never have to rely on others for its survival and pursuit of Korean unification on its terms," he said.
THE KIM PROBLEM
Brendan Thomas-Noone, a research fellow in the Alliance 21 Program at the University of Sydney's United States Studies Centre, said he believed the world's governments have taken the North Korea issue seriously.
"But it really comes down to how hard the issue is to solve," he said.
Thomas-Noone said this was a crisis that had no easy answers and highlighted one area where the regime had been underestimated.
"It has been easier for governments to 'wait it out' hoping the regime would collapse or come back to the negotiating table under pressure and sanctions," he said.
"That's where have underestimated North Korea."
People walk in front of an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shown on a large screen as a TV news reports the North Korea's missile test. Photo / AP
Thomas-Noone also said not enough pressure has been put on countries to properly enforce the sanctions regime on North Korea and that more could be done about this.
"Some of these countries in Africa and Southeast Asia don't have the resources to enforce sanctions and this is where countries like Australia should be doing more," he said.
"The important thing to remember here is that while China can exhibit significant pressure on Pyongyang, there are many ways that North Korea has been accessing capital - through cybercrime, black market arms trading, exported labour - that haven't been properly addressed by the international community."
GLOBAL OUTRAGE
This week's missile launch was considered a major breakthrough for the DPRK.
Many expressed doubts over the pace and capabilities of the DPRK's programme, including US President Donald Trump.
The test of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile flew for almost 1000km over 40 minutes and landed in Japanese waters.
David Wright, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote on the organisation's allthingsnuclear blog that the available figures implied the missile had "a maximum range of roughly 6700km on a standard trajectory".
That would also mean the Australian mainland is also potentially within reach of the missile.
Panghyon Airport is 5861km away from Darwin in the Northern Territory and 6678km from Cairns.
Soldiers gather in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea to celebrate the test launch of North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile two days earlier. Photo / AP
GROWTH OF A LEADER
The Kims are highly revered and their power goes unquestioned in North Korea.
Like his father, Kim Jong-il and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, North Korea's current leader is regarded as God-like and any criticism of the dynasty is severely punished.
The DPRK's state media has reported that Kim is a gifted sailor and learned to drive at the age of three. The younger Kim is also a celebrated musical composer and artist, who its state media claims is celebrated around the world.
Kim spent much of his childhood studying in Berne, Switzerland.
The youngest son of Kim Jong-il, he was identified as a natural leader early by his father and was given military training.
His eldest brother and Kim Jong-un's first son and once assumed heir apparent, Kim Jong-nam, was poisoned in an assassination plot in February which South Korea intelligence claim was organised by North Korean agents.
This image made from video aired by North Korea's KRT on Tuesday shows what was said to be North Korea leader Kim Jung Un applauding after the launch of a the missile. Photo / AP
Jong-nam, the 45-year-old playboy, had been living in exile in Macau and never knew his estranged younger half-brother.
He was regarded as the troublesome one in the Kim family, who openly spoke out for reform in North Korea.
Since assuming power in 2011, Kim Jong-un hasn't tolerated any threat to his leadership.
