Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

North Korea's latest launch suggests it rejects both U.S. threats and offers to talk

The Washington Post: North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan was unprecedented, but President Trump’s response Tuesday was not — a renewal of his warning that “all options are on the table” and a reminder that the possibility of military action has not yet deterred North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The missile launch seemed designed to wreak just the right amount of havoc: enough for Kim to show that he would not be cowed but not so much as to invite the “fire and fury” that Trump warned could follow continued North Korean threats.

The launch early Tuesday was the first test of such a sophisticated weapon over the landmass of a U.S. ally and an obvious warning to the United States that North Korea could easily target U.S. military facilities on Guam or elsewhere in the Pacific region.

Read article