A war of words— for now
North Korea missile launch. Don't shrug your shoulders. This time, it’s different
An academic stalemate has turned into a military confrontation, albeit at the level of threat and counterthreat
File this under “What could possibly go wrong?” North Korea this week launched a missile. You’re probably shrugging your shoulders, but don’t. This time, it’s different. The missile officially falls into the category “ICBM”, the first two letters of which stand for “intercontinental” — with the two continents here being Asia and North America. That’s right — as of now, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who personally supervised the test launch, can press a red button and a rocket bearing a nuclear warhead will be launched into space, returning to earth on US soil somewhere in Alaska. You might still be shrugging. It will be years, you’re telling yourself, before North Korea is capable of weaponising such a rocket. And even then, it will have to make its way through US defences. That’s probably true. But it has turned an academic geopolitical stalemate into a military confrontation, albeit purely at the level of threat and counterthreat. Ahead of the North Korean launch, the US releas...
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