It appears that Kim Jong-un is undaunted by the South’s decapitation unit. On Friday, the communist dictator ordered the launch of another ballistic missile that flew over Japanese territory, creating panic among its inhabitants, the Daily Mail reported. This posed a direct challenge both to China and the U.S. after the two countries agreed to the new UN sanctions with the reduced measures. The communist regime appears to show defiance against the international community. Is North Korea begging for war?
The missile’s trajectory
The North launched another missile but this time it was not aimed at Guam.
According to top military officials of South Korea, the latest ballistic missile flew over northern Japan and fell into the Pacific Ocean. With an altitude of around 770 kilometers, the missile flew for approximately 19 minutes over a distance of about 3700 km. This is far enough to reach Guam, a US military base. The latest missile launch by North Korea sent a menacing message to the United States government that the communist regime could easily and effectively reach the American base in the Pacific.
Although the White House already knew that the missile was fueled a day ago, it did not take any action to stop the loading of the missile on the launching pad. In one of the visits of Vice President Mike Pence to the United State’s intelligence agencies, images of the missile were shown to him.
Neither Japan nor the U.S. shot down the ballistic missile. Probably, they knew that the missile was not directed at land. According to the United States Pacific Command spokesperson, it was already determined earlier on by the North American Aerospace Defense Command that the ballistic missile did not actually pose any threat to North America.
Commander Dave Benham also said that the missile from North Korea did not really pose a direct threat to the Pacific Island of Guam.
In Japan, however, authorities alerted its citizens through cell phones and TV broadcast. They were immediately warned to take cover either underground or inside a building.
The counter measures of the allied forces
The latest missile launch by North Korea triggered both diplomatic and military challenges. President Donald Trump will meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Moon Jae-in in New York to finally address the crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
The US president showed frustration over the UN Security Council’s failure to impose harsher sanctions on the communist regime. Originally, the US proposed tougher sanctions which included a total cutoff of oil imports from China into North Korea. The US government’s proposal to employ military force in inspecting North Korean ships in international waters for weapons was also turned down by the Security Council.
According to the office of Ethiopia’s ambassador, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday upon the request of Japan and the US. For the month of September, Ethiopia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council.
