Tension continues to mount in Asia as US officials express the urgency of moving forward with a vast missile defense system in South Korea. These comments come after North Korea fired a missile off its east coast that apparently failed, as missile detonated within seconds, according to US Pacific Command.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a visit to Asia last week, made clear to North Korea that the US will take whatever means possible to thwart Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, but the determined dictatorship seemed to shrug off the warning, performing a ground jet test of a newly developed high-thrust missile engine a mere two days later.
In the last year, North Korea’s rapid rate of missile testing has left South Korea on edge, but the US’s decision to expand their missile defense system in South Korea as a result has in turn made China anxious. We’ve already had our fair share of tension with China in the last month, and to add to that, they have warned that if the US continued to expand their defense system in South Korea in a manner that led to provocation of North Korea, they’d be starting a new arms race that China would be unwillingly involved in.
Nonetheless, the House Armed Services Committee chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), said last week that: “We have not advanced missile defense as much as we should. We need a major ramp-up of missile defense that might help get the Chinese’s attention, but it also helps the Japanese and others feel more secure that we’re serious about our commitment to defend them.”
There certainly is a volatile situation brewing in Asia, and it’s hard to tell if this is just another random bid for attention on the part of the bizarre little Asian dictatorship, or if this will end up snowballing into a much bigger situation. Only time will tell, but as we keep warning, there’s never been a more pertinent time to prepare your family for the worst.
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