Kim Jong Un continues to find new ways to raise tensions with the United States.
The rogue dictator’s nuclear weapons program is the greatest threat to global stability.
Now he just crossed a red line and the consequences could be catastrophic.
North Korea is outraged over the United States and South Korea conducting joint military exercises.
Pyongyang views the U.S. and her ally preparing to defend themselves against the communist nation’s aggression as a provocation.
So North Korea responded.
But it went well beyond their usual bluster and saber rattling.
They flat out committed an act of war.
North Korea conducted a missile test where one of their weapons flew directly over Japan.
Breitbart reports:
“North Korea launched its latest missile on Monday, part of a series of launches seemingly intended to express anger at a joint U.S.-South Korean missile drill currently in progress. The Monday launch reportedly passed over Japanese territory, in a significant escalation of North Korea’s provocative behavior.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday afternoon that the North Korean missile was detected flying toward Japan, and shortly afterward passed through Japanese airspace over the Tohoku region, which is in the northern part of the country.
“We’ll take utmost efforts to protect the public,” Abe promised after the launch was detected.
Tohoku residents were urged to take shelter in a “sturdy building or basement” as the missile approached.
South Korean tracking reports indicate the missile landed in the sea after passing over Japan.
The Japanese government stated on Monday afternoon that a total of three missiles were fired from North Korea. The one that passed through Japanese airspace broke into three pieces before crashing into the sea about a thousand kilometers off Hokkaido, according to Japanese media.
Update: The Department of Defense has issued the following statement:
We assess North Korea conducted a missile launch within the last 90 minutes. We can confirm that the missile launched by North Korea flew over Japan. We are still in the process of assessing this launch. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America. We are working closely with Pacific Command, Strategic Command and NORAD and will provide an update as soon as possible.”
Conducting a weapons test over a sovereign nation’s airspace is an act of war.
America would never tolerate such behavior.
But given the stakes, it is likely Donald Trump and America’s allies will not retaliate with military action.
They will continue to press for a peaceful response to this crisis.
Their patience – however – is not unlimited, and North Korea is reaching the point of developing a nuclear weapon that has the ability to strike the United States.
At that point, conflict may be unavoidable.
