North Korea tested yet another intercontinental ballistic missile the other day. The missile flew for almost an hour at a ridiculously high trajectory (so high that US Defence Secretary James Mattis has speculated that, at a normal trajectory, the missile could reach “everywhere in the world, basically”). The missile reached a height of 4,500 km, which is over ten times the height of NASA’s International Space Station’s orbit, before plummeting back down to Earth and into the oceans off the coast of Japan.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is furious
The whole thing has gotten Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe filled with rage. Don’t mess with him. Don’t shoot a ballistic missile over his head. Abe was one of the first officials to come forward and condemn North Korea for its test launch, calling it “intolerable” and vowing that Japan will “never give in” to Kim’s tauntings. He also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
US President Donald Trump has promised to “handle” the North Korea crisis. He also sent out a tweet that said that funding for the government and the military in the United States is now “more important than ever” as the country plans for a nuclear war against Kim Jong-un’s volatile regime. This shouldn’t be something to be aiming for, but as long as it might be coming, military funding probably isn’t a bad idea.