Logic suggested that North Korea no longer contemplated an unprovoked attack on South Korea because it understood that doing so would ignite a blistering counterattack resulting in its extinction. “Pyongyang’s end game has changed from one of hegemonic unification,” Cha and Kang explain, “to basic survival” because it faces a superior adversary.23 The ROK has a far stronger economy, making possible much higher military expenditures. For example, in 1998, it spent twice as much on defense than Pyongyang, although this represented just 3.5 percent of its budget as compared to 37.9 percent in the DPRK. Moreover, the ROK has cutting-edge weaponry and sophisticated communications, intelligence, and electronic warfare capabilities.24 Hiding this disparity, however, was North Korea’s missile program. Time’s January 2003 article provided an example of how Pyongyang’s possession and testing of these weapons caused tremendous anxiety: