Kim Jong Il: 'Crazy Like a Fox'

July 5, 2006 — -- North Korea launched a seventh missile overnight, after having launched six missiles Tuesday, including one with the capability to hit U.S. shores.

The White House called the missile launches a "provocative" act.

In addition to analyzing the missiles' performance, intelligence officials and diplomats looked at the motivation of the man responsible for the launches: North Korea's reclusive and mysterious leader, Kim Jong Il. Kim is known as the "great general" or "dear leader."

The international community is now trying to get a handle on what he hopes to accomplish by challenging the United States.

Donald Gregg, the former ambassador to South Korea and an ABC News consultant, said today on "Good Morning America" that it was difficult to understand the logic behind the missile launches.

"I think this is a very crude overreaction to a delicate situation that is not going to do North Korea any good," Gregg said, referring to suggestions by two former administration officials that the United States should preemptively strike North Korean missiles before they can launch.

"I think he wants serious attention from us, a guarantee of North Korean security," Gregg said.

Gregg believes, though, this recent move will prove counterproductive for North Korea.

"I think these weapons are built to deter us and not to attack us," he said. "That's why this military provocation is so ineffective, because it does create all kinds of negative reactions here in the states."

While Kim faces international scorn, support for him inside North Korea is unlikely to change. North Koreans, for the most part, are completely cut off from outside information or ideas.

While Kim isolates his nation, he fiercely maintains his role as deity.

Every event, from children's dance recitals to parades showcasing the nation's massive military, is designed to glorify the man in charge.

Experts say his moves Tuesday were just as calculated.

"An American holiday, the day of the space shuttle, he launches missiles," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "It's an in-your-face provocative act. He's trying to say, 'I'm around. I'm a major player.'"