North’s Defiant Missile Launch

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Saturday that North Korea launched unidentified ballistic missile in the morning, which was resulted in a failure. Under the heavy pressure from international society and in a high security tension in Northeast Asia, defiant Kim Jong-un regime demonstrated their firm determination of not giving in United States. Intimidated by sudden launch of ballistic missile, Japan raised security alert in some public sectors.

The missile was fired from Bukchang, located in central region of North Korea around 5:30 a.m. While a series of missile launches in this February and thereafter had been boosted from coastal region of both side of Korean Peninsula, Kim regime made a performance of showing capability of missile delivery from central area. The missile, supposedly middle-range KN-17, was boosted to the altitude of 71 kilometers from the ground and exploded by itself few minutes after the fire. KN-17 was disclosed for the first time in a military parade in Pyongyang on earlier this month and regarded as anti-vessel ballistic missile.

International pressure on North Korea is getting heavier as its defiant behavior escalates. U.S.S. Carl Vinson entered Japan Sea in Saturday morning after joint drill with two destroyers of Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force. China has warned North Korea that it would lay unilateral sanctions, if North Korea would have another nuclear test. A source of Chinese military indicated that China had begun oil embargo against North Korea.

The pressure of U.S. and China against North Korea are not fully coordinated each other. U.S. President Donald Trump accused the missile launch by North Korea as “disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President,” in his twitter account. Secretary of States Rex Tillerson urged China further sanction, regarding China as the only existence of being able to exercise economic influence. China refuses to be the only one to solve the problem. “U.S. and South Korea have to suspend major military exercise against North Korea,” told Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wan Yi. China is afraid of North Korea being uncontrollable.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused the missile launch in a press opportunity in London, dismissing possibility of early resumption of the Six Party Talk as dialogue for dialogue. Subway in Tokyo temporarily stopped its operation right after the missile launch in the early morning. “We had news report that North Korea fired a ballistic missile,” Tokyo Metro warned passengers in every station. Psychological pressure on Japanese citizens is simultaneously getting high.