Tuesday, North Korea lobbed a possible ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, just one day ahead of talks between Trump and the Chinese.
CNN reports:
The projectile used in Wednesday's test was launched at 6:42 a.m. Seoul time, from a site in the vicinity of Sinpo, South Hamgyong province, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. It flew a distance of around 60 kilometers (37 miles), South Korean officials said.
The North Koreans use Sinpo shipyard for their submarine activity, and US satellites have observed increased activity there in recent days, a second US official said.
US Pacific Command said it detected and tracked a North Korean missile launch at 11:42 a.m. Hawaii time April 4, according to a statement. Pacific Command's initial assessment is that the missile was a KN-15 medium range ballistic missile.
"The North American Aerospace Defense Command determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America," said Cmdr. Dave Benham, spokesman for US Pacific Command.
The Japanese government estimated the projectile did not land within its exclusive economic zone, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in a briefing Wednesday morning.
This is certainly cause for alarm, but the Trump administration's response was downright terrifying. A high-level official told CNN, "The clock has now run out, and all options are on the table."
The White House followed that up with a statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson which was equally concerning.
In a statement, Tillerson wrote, "North Korea launched yet another intermediate range ballistic missile. The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment."
That's it. A statement essentially daring North Korea to ramp up the hostilities. A statement which is not representative of diplomacy at all, but rather a statement ratcheting up the heat just ahead of Trump's talks with China.
We have utter incompetents in our government. Fools who are playing geopolitical games like they're of no greater importance than a game of risk. We know Trump wants a war with someone. Is North Korea his chosen target?
We're going to be lucky to get out of this administration without half the nation being killed.
