Because it wouldn’t be 2017 without weekly word of new belligerence from Kim Jong Un, Fox News reports that North Korea has fired a missile of unknown design into the Sea of Japan.
According to the South Korean military, the missile actually passed over Japan, and was launched from Pyongyang. The Pentagon is currently looking into the matter.
The move came after North Korea fired three short-range missiles on Saturday — all deemed successful despite initial reports suggesting failure, according to the U.S. military.
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Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles fired during the weekend from North Korea’s eastern coast flew about 155 miles.
U.S. and South Korean forces began annual military exercises last week, an effort that Pyongyang claimed was a rehearsal for war.
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Japan’s military has been practicing deploying anti-missile batteries at three U.S. bases in Japan. The U.S. military says the drills will test the ability of Japanese and U.S. forces to work together and assess firing locations at the bases. They will also allow Japan to practice rapid deployment of its PAC-3 anti-missile system.
Madman Kim definitely wants to keep people scared and uncertain, with the fear that the next missile will hit something other than water at the forefront of the world’s minds. But it’s hard to imagine that his contentment with spreading just fear will last forever.
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Do you think these launches are precursors to actual attacks? What do you think should be done to prevent the worst, and how soon? Share your thoughts in the comments.
