Last week, North Korea fired an intermediate range missile over Japan. The Hwasong-12 missile, which is designed to carry a nuclear warhead, traveled about 1,700 miles in fourteen minutes before crashing into the Pacific Ocean 575 miles east of Japan. This isn’t the first time that North Korea has launched an object into the skies over Japan, though it is the first time that the object was clearly a missile. North Korea is a small country, about the size of Virginia, and so they don’t have nearly enough space to test intermediate- and long-range missiles on their own soil. Because of their location, it’s nearly impossible for them to test a missile without shooting it over another country. So it’s possible that North Korean leaders chose the Hokkaido island region of Japan because of its lower population.
The United States currently has sixteen ships stationed in the Pacific which are capable of intercepting intermediate-range ballistic missiles. However, during last week’s launch, the Navy declined to act. This could be because United States authorities announced right after the launch that the North Korean missile posed no threat to the continental U.S. or to Guam. Nevertheless, this test proves that North Korea is indeed capable of firing a missile that could reach Guam. There is a history of North Korea conducting such tests on the North Korean holiday known as the Day of the Foundation of the Republic. The country’s last nuclear test was on September 9 of last year.
Whether the missiles pose a threat or not, it's still scary to have a missile launched over you. Accidents happen and the situation could turn dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThis is very scary, especially because North Korea is in possession of such a large missile. I find it interesting that they test their nuclear weapons around the same time each year.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious as to what the U.S. will do in response to this missile, and if other countries will get involved.
ReplyDeleteThis is very scary, considering the US already has a lot on their plate with all these natural disasters. I also wonder if other countries will get involved.
ReplyDeleteThis is very dangerous, and even if it was a test it could still be taken as a threat. I wonder if North Korea will send out another missile in order to get a response out of the U.S.
ReplyDeleteThings like this never end well. This was very dangerous, and very unnecessary. This very serious and not something to mess around with. Japan didn't do anything bad enough to deserve a "test" missile that could cause major destruction.
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