By Jake Mulick
Staff Writer
North Korea test-launched a ballistic missile directly over Japan in a brazen attempt to intimidate the country on Aug. 28, according to The New York Times.
Former Senior Director for Asian Affairs Evan Medeiros remarked that the move by North Korea had serious thought behind it.
The goal of the launch was to test the alliance between the United States and Japan. The Atlantic reported that as tensions rise between the United States and North Korea, Japan runs the risk of being attacked because of its staunch alliance with the United States.
The test served as a reminder of Japan’s proximity to North Korea and the likelihood that North Korea will engage in military action beginning there, according to The Atlantic.
North Korea does have the nuclear capability to strike Japan and South Korea, both close neighbors to the country. This fact could hurt relations between the two countries and the United States because of President Donald Trump’s continuing provocation of North Korea.
The Washington Post recently reported on Saturday, Sept. 2 that President Trump also plans on pulling the United States out from a free trade deal it has with South Korea, amidst the aforementioned nuclear threat from North Korea.
President Trump has threatened nuclear war with North Korea and worsened relations with Japan as of Saturday, Sept. 2, according to the New York Times. Now Trump looks to dampen the economic relationship with our ally, South Korea.
Trump’s U.N. envoy, Nikki Haley, announced that the U.N.’s Security Council will hold an emergency meeting about North Korea’s latest hydrogen bomb test on Monday, Sept. 4, according to CNN.
Only time will tell what the ramifications of these actions will look like, as military tensions between the nations are at their highest in years, according to the Washington Post.
