While America and the world’s attention is rightly focused on the uprising in Iran, another charter member of the former “axis of evil” is set to make some big noise of its own. Nuclear power North Korea reportedly is set to fire a missile toward Hawaii, according to Japan’s top-selling paper, Yomiuri. Citing Japanese Defense Ministry and intelligence from U.S. reconnaissance satellites, the paper believes the launch will come between July 4 and 8. Happy Independence Day, indeed. Yomiuri notes that North Korea’s most advanced missile has a top range of 4,000 miles. That’s 500 miles from the nearest Hawaiian island. That's reassuring, but it's the PR message sent by the North Koreans that will whip U.S. politicians into a frenzy.
Obama met the leader of South Korea this week. He called North Korea a “grave threat” and warned that U.N. sanctions must be aggressively enforced. North Korea threatened a “thousand-fold” military retaliation against the U.S. if it's squeezed by sanctions. The missile launch may be part of that promised retaliation.
The International Crisis Group believes North Korea’s stockpile of up to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons is as much as a threat to the region as its nuclear arsenal. The weapons can be delivered by missiles or artillery shells and “inflict massive civilian casualties on South Korea,” according to ICG. The U.S. has about 37,000 troops deployed in South Korea.
There is another wild card to play. The current New Republic has a piece about the handoff of power in North Korea from “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il to his 26-year-old son, Kim Jong Un. Though no formal announcement has been made, NR notes that school kids in the “Hermit Kingdom” are already singing praises of junior’s noble rule. The article ponders whether if Kim Jong Il’s son is any less insane than Daddy Dearest. We may soon find out.
A North Korean missile fired at the U.S. will make energy, climate change, healthcare and banking reform seem like a walk in the park for the U.S. President.