By Patrick Cronin, Paul S. Giarra & Matthew N. Giarra
A series of tactical errors mean North Korea is taking American threats increasingly less seriously. The U.S. has military technical and operational options for changing this quickly.
It would be a mistake to assume that we dodged a bullet with thefiery end to North Korea’s Unha-3 missile launch at the Dongchang-ri facility one minute into its fight. In fact, this was a test flight, and while missile engineers always hope for fully successful flights, they also understand that there’s plenty to be learned from failures as well. The reality is that however this launch ended, it portends an exponential advance in North Korea’s military arsenal. While compared to modern solid-fueled rockets the liquid-fueled Unha-3 may be operationally impractical as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, it provides a perfect test of the staging required for a long-range missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead. North Korea’s missile provocation transcends mere reputational costs to the United States and its allies – it poses real military threats that must be addressed through defensive military means.
Read the full story at The Diplomat