North Korea confirmed on Thursday that after months of attempts and five failures, they have succesfully launched a midrange missile.
The Hwasong-10 missile, which is also known as Musudan, landed accurately after flying 249 miles.
North Korea made two attempts at missile launches on Wednesday. The first launch ended in a failure, after the missile crashed into the water about 150 miles from the launch site. But the second launch of the day, occurring only a few hours later, has put the countries around North Korea on their toes.
The Hwasong-10 missile has a peak range of up to 4,000 km, meaning that the missile could be used to target both countries in the area (Tokyo is only a little over 1000 km from the launch site) and American posts in the Pacific.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest responded to the missile test, saying, “The impact of these provocations will be to only strengthen the resolve of the international community that has such serious concerns with North Korea’s behavior. The United states will do what we have done in the Past, which is work with the international community, particularly our allies in South Korea and Japan.”
South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min Koo said that if North Korea continues testing missiles, they will face tougher sanctions than before.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said during Thursday's press briefing said that the U.S. condemned the recent string of North Korean missile tests, saying the U.S. is “in close consultation with allies and partners" and adding, "These launches only serve to increase the international community’s resolve to counter the DPRK’s prohibited activities, including through implementing existing UN Security Council sanction.”
But have those sanctions already in place worked at all against North Korea? Prior to sanctions placed on North Korea back in 2014, the communist country was already one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. The most recent additions to the long list of sanctions has not slowed down their missile testing in the slightest; in fact, the tests have ramped up.
One possible reason why the sanctions have not been working is because China, the only major ally of North Korea, may not be enforcing them effectively. As the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue is currently in session in Beijing, it may be a good time for those countries to figure out what to do about their belligerent neighbor to slow the increase of missile testing in North Korea.