Following the latest missile launch by North Korea, President Donald Trump said that “all the options are on the table” and that the continuous tests and threats by Kim Jong-Un’s regime only contribute to the country's isolation. In the same statement released by the White House, the president said that the world has received the country's message “loud and clear."
According to the BBC, that was the first time the regime launched a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Recently, the United Nations imposed a series of sanctions against North Korea, preventing the country from exporting all of its products, especially fish and coal, which account for almost all of its exports.
Even China, North Korea's ally, agreed to follow the imposition in order to force the country to halt its nuclear program.
UN Security Council meets
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said, according to Reuters, that the UN has to take serious action over this “absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible” behavior. Following the missile launch, the United States and Japan convened an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which has as permanent members (besides the U.S.) Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
At a press conference, Haley added that North Korea has ignored every resolution taken by the Security Council, and because of that behavior, “something serious has to happen,” reports Reuters.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also condemned the country's actions. In a statement available on the UN’s website, the entity spokesperson Eri Kaneko says that “the Secretary-General calls on the Government of the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations and to work to re-open channels of communication.”
A missile over Japan
The latest test was by far the most provocative so far.
For the first time since it began launching long- and mid-range missiles, North Korea managed to fire a missile over Japanese territory. The missile traveled nearly 1700 miles from the Korean Peninsula. It crossed the island of Hokkaido and fell into the Sea of Japan before breaking into at least three pieces.
Japanese authorities sounded alarms and urged people to look for safe places.
In 1998, North Korea launched 2 rockets that crossed the Japan, according to the BBC. At the time, the regime, which was led by Kim Jong-Un’s father Kim Jong-Il, said that its aim was to put a satellite into orbit, and thus it was not an attack.
Tensions between The United States and North Korea began to rise after several missile launches that led President Trump to threaten the regime with “fire and fury.” The immediate response from North Korea was to announce the launching of a missile to hit Guam, an island in the Pacific that holds some strategic U.S. military bases. But, when the war seemed unavoidable, North Korea stepped back.
