North Korea, or otherwise formally known as The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), said this week that they are capable of testing an interconinental ballistic missile, or an ICBM. This news comes after leader Kim Jong Un saying that his country was nearing capacity to test launch an ICBM on the first of the new year. In response, The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said North Korea’s nuclear weapons program constitutes a “serious threat” and that the United States is prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile or test, “if it were coming towards our territory, or the territory of our friends and allies.” An unnamed foreign ministry spokesman of the DPRK recently said that the,”United States is wholly to blame for pushing the DPRK to have developed an ICBM” due to their hostile behavior, referring to UN sanctions which were further tightened last month.
The DPRK, a country that threatens the safety of the majority of the world, has claimed to have the capability of testing an intercontinental ballistic missile, which would deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads to its target causing crippling damage if launched correctly. This development is one the United States and the world should not take likely, but with the utmost seriousness. Moreover, this progress that the DPRK has made in its nuclear programs will eventually lead to a successful test and eventual launch of an ICBM. When this happens, it will be compelling to see the reactions of the United States and other countries of the world. It will be compelling to see if their reactions are rash and result in military action taken against the DPRK, or if their reactions are on the prudent side and result in more of a diplomatic approach.
On another note, it also worth discussing the fact that the DPRK has directly blamed the U.S for pushing them to developing an ICBM. The unnamed spokespan uses the words “anachronistic policy hostile” to descripe the Untied States’ treatment to his country. However this policy and subsequent treatment, which are not accurately described with these words, is justified, as the DPRK is a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by a man who has threatened a multitude of countries with wafare.