In yet another act of defiance, Kim Jong Un has launched a Scud missile that has landed in the sea near Japan on Monday The Telegraph reports. The short-range missile flew nearly 450-Km (280 miles) before landing in the exclusive maritime economic zone of Japan. Assets in the region like aircraft or vessels are believed to be unharmed.
Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga has termed the act to be a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and has remarked that it is difficult to tolerate such continuous actions of provocation and Japan strongly condemns such actions.
White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump has been briefed on these fresh developments but North Korea has maintained silence on the matter.
North Korea is improving its technologies
Sky News reports that North Korea carried out the testing of a new anti-aircraft weapon system that, in the opinion of Kim Jong Un, will put an end to the dreams of his enemies who want to prove their air superiority. It seems there were a few teething problems that have now been resolved and the stage is set for mass scale production and deployment. According to the state media, the system that has been developed can detect and strike airborne targets irrespective of location. There was footage shown as proof.
The leader appears to be satisfied with the outcome and has claimed that the striking accuracy of the system has improved ever since its first testing that was done in April last year. He is confident that he now has the power to stop hostile nations who boast about air supremacy.
He had three top officials with him when he went to witness the launch and they were specialists related to missiles, rockets and nuclear weapons.
Reactions of the United States
The latest tests carried out by Kim Jong Un are believed to be proof that Pyongyang is gradually learning from its past mistakes and is on the path to acquiring necessary expertise to develop missiles. Its success could create problems for the United States and its allies. In this context, the head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency has indicated that, unless suitable action is taken on a priority basis, North Korea could lay hands on a nuclear-armed missile that can strike America.
Of course, the general understanding of Western experts is that Pyongyang is not yet ready to carry out such a threat and it could reach that stage after more time.
The defiant ballistic missile tests have created tension with Washington. North Korea continues to maintain the stand that it needs these weapons to tackle and nullify aggression from the United States, while America continues to deny any such intention.
Incidentally, Donald Trump had threatened to go in for a preemptive strike on North Korea but later backtracked and said that sanctions and dialogues could resolve the problems. There appears to be a lack of clarity on America’s approach.
