Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/14/north-korea-launches-third-suspected-missile-in-just-over-a-week
North Korea just held their third missile test within a two week time period. They fired two ballistic missiles just a matter of hours after they criticized the US when they announced the push for new sanctions due to previous missile launches. The missiles were said to be short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs). Although the launch has yet to be confirmed yet, countries such as Japan and South Korea have come out and said that there was in fact a missile launch. If/when the launch is confirmed this would mark the third North Korean missile launch since January 5, 2022. North Korean President Kim Jong Un was even present to watch the second missile launch. These launches are causing the US to want to increase the amount of sanctions on North Korea as a result of the missile launches.
I feel that it is important to increase sanctions on missile launches. If North Korea is allowed to continue launching missiles without a fear of punishment, who knows what they could do. North Korea has held tests in the past that shows that the missiles have the potential to reach wherever North Korea wants them to. This would pose an issue for any country across the globe, especially countries like South Korea and Japan that are not allied with North Korea and are within close proximity to them. Even though the United States has a presence in the region by deploying nuclear, tactical and strategic weapons and troops to South Korea and having American troops in Japan, neither has been enough of a deterrent to stop North Korea.
This relates back to class due to the topic of alliances. The US is aligning itself with South Korea and Japan in order to prevent North Korea from being able to expand and strengthen. This is because it is not only a threat to South Korea and Japan for North Korea to strengthen, but also for the US and the rest of the world. North Korea is one of the bigger threats to the US partly due to the unknown on whether or not they have advanced to the point where they can make the missiles being tested nuclear and a threat worldwide.