This is a very brief scenario and the background of what happened in the early hours of July 5 when North Korea test fired seven missiles within a few hours time. Now, as what indeed was predicted for a long had happened in reality, both North Korea and her adversaries are seem to be on the ring, warming up for the eventual start of a real bout with the first blow of the whistle.

Northeast Asia, as a result, all of a sudden has turned into an extremely dangerous place, where talks of retaliation and providing opponents with a very good lesson of power so that they dare not try again what they had been up to right now are abound. So much so, that even politicians also started losing senses as their minds seemed to have been blocked by a single thought of revenge.

As parties concerned have decided to throw the dice with the hope of a good luck, the background scenario of what prompted Pyongyang to resort to an open defiance becoming more puzzling. Is it a mere showing of strength to Japan, the country with which Pyongyang is having the most adversarial of all its relationship? Or is it a kind of pressure on Washington to compel the United States to rethink the strategy of not getting involved with North Korea in any direct negotiation?

As far as Japan is concerned, the policymakers and politicians belonging to various political groups are united in their assessment that the aim of last week's missile test fires was precisely Japan. Hence there is also a growing sense of uneasiness, both among the political circle as well as ordinary citizens about a real-case scenario when a missile might indeed land in and around Japan carrying deadly and destructive warheads. As a result, the hawkish tone of political leadership that can be heard these days all over the country seems to be what many in Japan were probably expecting.

Immediately after the Wednesday incident, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called President George W. Bush to discuss various options that two countries now have before finalizing what joint action against the North Korean move they were to take. Koizumi asked the US president to garner support for a draft UN Security Council resolution that Japan later submitted. To show the North Koreans that the Japanese reactions are no longer destined to remain simply political rhetoric, the government has already decided to impose ban on the entry of a North Korean vessel to Japanese ports for six months. Observers see the embargo as first of many measures that the Japanese side is poised to take to punish Pyongyang's provocative act.

The political spectrum in Japan too suddenly seems to be finding a common and united ground. Unlike in other times, country's political arena is holding a unified standing that the launching of missiles was an act of provocation that wouldn't bring anything good to the people of North Korea. Even the leaders of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party of Japan, long seen to be mild and softer towards North Korea, also voiced concern about Pyongyang's latest missile drama.

Such public mood obviously serves well for politicians long seen as hawkish and they are now not hesitant to take steps that might jeopardize further the already complicated situation of the region. The leading among them is Shinzo Abe, the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the front runner in the race for the replacement of Koizumi after he steps down in September. As expected, fuelled by the magical power of nationalism that received further boost from North Korean missiles, Abe did not hesitate to cross the line of diplomatic decency as he told reporter openly and in a plain language that the missile launches "constitute a grave issue and no nation should be perceived, even by mistake, to harbour sympathy for North Korea."

Abe's message, no doubt, has been directed not to Pyongyang, but to countries that continue to maintain normal ties with North Korea, particularly China and Russia. Both Russia and China, on the other hand, are resisting any strong measure, including sanctions, to pursue North Korea to abandon its weapons program and are in favor of less punitive actions. As a result, gaining the much needed full cooperation of China and Russia for a Security Council resolution will not be easy at all and sentimental comments with the purpose of strengthening domestic support base can only complicate the situation further.

Observers are now convinced that the main purpose of North Korea's missile launching was not to provoke Japan or any other neighbouring countries, but to send a clear message to Washington that the United States should not delay further to begin direct negotiation with Pyongyang. One particular fact that should not be overlooked is that, the missiles were fired on July 4, the Independence Day in the United States.

In the past North Korean provocations always worked in favour of Pyongyang. The 1994 nuclear crisis in the Korean Peninsula saw United States and North Korea eventually signing an agreed framework. Following the launching of North Korea's first long range missile in 1998, a high level US official visited North Korea and reached a deal in which Pyongyang agreed to freeze missile launches in exchange for continued assistance.

The process even took the then US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, to Pyongyang, being the highest level US official to visit the country ever. It might have been in the minds of North Korean leadership that they were going to make it again this time as well. But unlike the democratic leadership of the past, the Bush administration seems to be less bothered by any indirect pressure and is more interested in trying to build international support for tougher measures against North Korea.

As a result, there is a possibility that North Korean brinkmanship and the act of defiance this time might turn out to be counter-productive. But the risk is definitely there that this might also push the country further to the corner and compel the leadership to go for even more defiant acts. Should a situation like that emerge, once again the country that has to take most of the burns would probably be Japan.

Hence, it is also in the interest of Japan to ensure that North Korea is not isolated further. And a more pragmatic approach for Japan should be to pursue Tokyo's closest ally, not to abandon the option of direct negotiation. But we know when air turns warmer, the balloon of pride seems to fly higher and higher, widening the distance between those left on the ground and those sitting in the small but cozy balloon of superficial glory.