With the World Cup winding down, and politicians preparing for a summer break, the summer "silly season" threatened to arrive where little news of any substance or implication becomes the order of the day for the world's media. North Korea's premier Kim Jong-Il, self-appointed "Dear Leader" of the rogue communist state, seems to be acutely aware of this. Test-firing seven missiles, including a long range Taepodong-2 variety, seemed designed to capture the world's attention and re-focus diplomats' minds on Pyongyang.

North Korea, for its part, has said it will continue testing  its missiles and has warned of reprisals should sanctions be imposed. The international opprobrium which greeted the tests could not have come as any surprise to North Korea and may even have been the desired outcome. Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program had stalled, and Kim may be hoping to use the missile tests as leverage in future discussions. If so, the move may well backfire, just as the missile tests are reported to have failed. On Thursday, the German media is skeptical, and queries North Korean logic, as well as Kim's peculiar motivations.

"Timed perfectly to coincide with US Independence Day, North Korea -- a regime not renowned for its respect for ideas of freedom and independence -- launched its own fireworks," writes Sueddeutsche Zeitung, under the headline, "A Firework to Fear." The editorial paints the missile test as an "aggressive and adolescent" act. No other reasonable interpretation is possible because "a mass test-firing of this kind makes no sense -- neither militarily nor for scientific research." Just as fireworks across US cities are supposed to excite the public's attention, the North Korean regime was banking on the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of its observers." The reason for this display of provocation, the paper explains, is that North Korea feels it has been done wrong. The US has stemmed the flow of fake currency coming from North Korea and China is increasingly disinterested in the country's role as a protective buffer. In any case, China's current hyper-economic development demands access to raw materials which requires international cooperation and diplomatic responsibility on Beijing's part. Meanwhile, nationalism is on the rise in Japan, which could lead to a strengthening of the country's military capability in response to North Korean aggression. "By testing a rocket, North Korea has simply confirmed these trends, and with it, the country's isolation," the paper concludes.

Financial Times Deutschland is in an apocalyptic mood. "It's the nightmare of the Western world," the paper writes. "An unpredictable Asian dictator fires a nuclear-armed rocket from his insular, hungry country to cause death and destruction over 10,000 kilometers away in America." But we're not at that stage yet, the paper adds. Yet despite the protests of governments, NATO and the United Nations Security Council, no effective response is likely to materialize. "The (West's) indignation belies its profound helplessness: Up till now, all attempts to pacify the 'rogue state' have failed," the editorialist soberly suggests. But, the writer quickly tires of the middle ground and reverts to the more exciting theme of nuclear annihilation. "The risk is large that if forced into corner, Kim -- who is not concerned by the fate of his people -- could suddenly and irrationally strike out." The key to the whole puzzle isn't in Pyongyang, the paper believes, rather it's in Beijing. "North Korea is destabilizing the whole region and China, like the rest of the world, can do without the economic turbulence which this conflict creates." The solution? China needs to act, and put the fighting dog (Kim) back on his lead.

But the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung isn't frightened by Kim's saber-rattling. "Technically speaking, what North Korea shot into the sky on Wednesday wasn't very intimidating," the editorial begins. Like the rest of us, the paper asks what the North Korean leader can possibly hope to achieve. After all, by firing the missiles, Kim "has only reduced the number of his friends." One country certain to demand punitive action is Japan. "Prime Minister Koizumi has said that all problems must be solved by dialogue. But Koizumi will only be in office for another three months; his potential successor, cabinet secretary Abe, has already made aggressive noises. If Japan feels consistently threatened by North Korean missiles, it's not likely to refrain from (taking) defensive measures." Coupled with Japan's bellicosity are the worsening relations between Japan and China: It doesn't look good. So what's the explanation? "North Korea is not threatened militarily. Kim Jong-Il must be aware of this. But perhaps in Pyongyang, the military has become stronger than politicians. And soldiers sometimes have a headstrong outlook on the world," the paper concludes.