Bring Forth The North

On September 17, advisers to the U.S. president urged North Korea to stop their production of nuclear weapons and threats against the U.S. This came just a few days after North Korea launched another missile test that flew over Japan and landed in the ocean. This latest test demonstrated an improvement in the nuclear capabilities of the hermit nation; experts say that the missile used had enough range to reach Guam.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un responded with a stern vow that he would not stop production of arms or stop testing weapons until North Korea’s arsenal matches that of the United States. President Trump and Kim Jong-Un’s back and forth talking has raised tensions between the two nations, as well as with allies of the U.S. North Korean propaganda films had previously warned that North Korea would fire missiles around the ocean near Guam, which seemed to be empty threats, but now these warnings carry new sincerity due to the last missile test.

Earlier this month, another nuclear test in North Korea garnered attention after reshaping a mountain. The site of the test was the Punggye-ri facility, a complex network of tunnels under Mount Mantap used for weapons testing. The mountain was displaced by the test of a hydrogen bomb that seismic analyzers estimated was around 250 kilotons.

Experts confirmed that this was the most powerful bomb tested by the North Koreans, clocking in at about 16 times more powerful than that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. President Trump has repeatedly made threats against North Korea to retaliate with military action, but has yet to make a move. In response to the tests, South Korea and the U.S. have begun more training exercises and joint operations.

U.S. Ambassador for the U.N. Nikki Haley stated in a CNN interview, “We have pretty much exhausted all the things we can do at the security council at this point,” demonstrating the inability for diplomatic negotiations to be made with North Korea. Now the United States is in the world’s eyes, waiting for President Trump’s administration to take action.