Kim Jong Un is proud of his missiles and wants to show them to the world, but it is giving him sleepless nights because yet another of his missile launch failed – it did not leave any lasting impression on the world. Sources in the South Korean military have revealed that the unidentified missile took off from a location northeast of Pyongyang and remained airborne for a few minutes. It attained an altitude of 44 miles but did not leave the airspace of North Korea.
North Korea wants to get noticed
New York Times reports that in spite of efforts by the United States and China to curb the military ambitions of North Korea, it went ahead with another test that ended in a failure.
It was the second consecutive failure in the past two weeks. Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the United States Pacific Command, confirmed that the missile launch was not successful because it did not leave the North Korean territory and the attempt did not pose any threat to the United States.
The world has been maintaining a close watch on the activities of North Korea after it announced that it would conduct its sixth underground nuclear test. Satellite imagery of its nuclear test site indicated some degree of preparatory work done, but the actual launch is yet to happen.
Efforts to control North Korea
In the era of Barack Obama, the United States had initiated steps to put a brake on the nuclear ambitions of Pyongyang, but it continued to acquire expertise and gather knowledge.
Therefore, Obama ordered that countermeasures be initiated against the missile launches and these included techniques related to electronic warfare. The repeated failures of missile launches by North Korea could be attributed to lack of engineering knowledge or bad luck or sabotage – the exact reasons are not known.
The latest failure would be a major embarrassment for Kim Jong Un.
His intention was to show off his country’s readiness to tackle the buildups of American warships in the peninsula. The American ships included the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson which was carrying out a joint military exercise with the South Korean Navy. There had been statements from the North’s state-run media that the country was in possession of enough missiles to destroy Carl Vinson and sink it to the bottom of the sea.
Whatever it be, the activities of North Korea spell danger to not only the United States but also to its allies like South Korea and Japan apart from countries like China whose president has shown an interest in trying to find a solution. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has said in a meeting of the UNSC that unless prompt action is taken, it could lead to a catastrophe.
