Associated Press, FOX NEWS

SEOUL, South Korea North Korea observers have long marveled at the ability of a small, impoverished, autocratic nation to go toe-to-toe with the world's superpowers.

Part of the secret to North Korean success has always been the ruling Kim family's mastery of the art of brinkmanship.

What looks to outsiders like bluster, bombast and recklessness is actually a proven technique that over the years has won North Korea grudging respect from Washington and its allies, and at times filled its coffers with aid offered by rivals relieved to see animosity on the Korean Peninsula ease.

In recent weeks, however, the roles may have reversed, with a new administration in Washington bulldozing its way to the brink before finally backing away.

Korean war jitters made global headlines after U.S. President Donald Trump issued repeated, ambiguous warnings about his willingness to take unilateral action and sent U.S. military vessels to Korean waters. This week, however, Trump announced a much softer policy that combines diplomacy and economic sanctions and is strikingly similar to what frustrated past presidents embraced.

North Korea used to employ a comparable method: Forcing the world to pay attention by staging nuclear and missile tests, issuing outrageous threats and occasionally lashing out with violence and then offering up negotiations.

For decades, the tiny, Third World dictatorship sandwiched between rich behemoths played the game remarkably well. But some now see North Korea entering a frightening new phase, barreling across what were once considered red lines in a dash to build nuclear-armed missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Here is a brief examination of North Korea's mastery of brinkmanship, and what might be coming next:

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US BRINKMANSHIP?

Brinkmanship can be defined as the technique of pushing a dangerous policy to the edge of safety before stopping.

Some Korea experts, analyzing what happened in recent weeks on the Korean Peninsula, believe that this time Washington engineered the brinksmanship.

Presumably worried that North Korea would soon conduct its sixth nuclear test, the Trump administration threatened a possible attack, ordered a supercarrier and nuclear-powered submarine to Korea and linked the recent U.S. bombing of Syria to North Korea.

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Anatomy Of A Growing Threat: North Korea's Evolving Brinkmanship - Fox News