Is Another North Korea Missile Test Imminent?

by Robert Carbery

As the focus moves back to domestic terrorism on the national security front in the wake of the first deadly terrorist attack in Manhattan in the last 16 years, the North Korea threat has fallen from the headlines yet again. Sounds like we are due for another aggressive missile test from the rogue regime.
It’s been more than six weeks since North Korea completed a missile test which is the longest lull during this crazy year for the Korean Peninsula. Nevertheless, the silence will be temporary. Reuters just reported that unnamed South Korean military officials are detecting a troubling amount of activity at the North’s missile research facilities in Pyongyang, where the most recent tests were conducted. The South Korean intelligence sources are stating that another launch is possible in the near future.
This is far from the first time the South has detected this kind of activity with similar reports surfacing about a month ago. It is believed that the North is getting a new long range missile capable of striking targets on the U.S. mainland. The Kim Jong Un regime has made its intention obvious, regularly issuing threats to destroy the U.S. and its close ally, South Korea. While it remains up for debate as to how great a threat the North Korean missiles are to America, what cannot be denied are the rapid advances in missile and nuclear weapons technologies and capabilities the Un regime has been making in recent months. They appear to be surpassing all experts’ expectations as to how far along they are in being able to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear bomb.
“There is a possibility of a new missile launch given the active movement of vehicles around the missile research institute in Pyongyang. The North will constantly push for further nuclear tests going forward, and the miniaturization and diversification of warheads,” the South’s intelligence agency said at a recent briefing.  
Scientists from China, the U.S., and South Korea have warned that another nuclear test could spark a total collapse of the mountain above the underground test site. The tunnels have already started caving in, as reported by a Japanese TV station which revealed a collapsed tunnel buried more than 200 North Korean workers alive. It is believed the North ran a hydrogen bomb test on the third of September, its sixth nuclear test since 2006. After this test, three low level earthquakes triggered a landslide at the test site. Experts believe the North will continue to work on its efforts to mount a nuclear warhead atop a missile, despite the dangers. In the end, it is their best defense against an invasion from the West.  
All of this is going on as President Trump is set to depart for his first tour of Asia since taking office on Friday. Needless to say, North Korea will be a main topic of discussion. What to do about North Korea is far from a settled question. There are no easy answers and a rising and assertive China in the Pacific will likely be a more real and pressing threat to the U.S.
America’s Navy is readying a naval exercise with three aircraft carriers to coincide with the president’s tour of the continent. Is this move all the justification the North will need to launch another missile or perhaps an actual attack?  
Guess we will find out soon.
 
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