Local military expert weighs in on North Korea missile launch

November 28, 2017 10:36 pm

By John Krinjak

Email: jkrinjak@abc6.com

Twitter: @johnkrinjakABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The threat posed by North Korea is back on the front burner Tuesday night, after the country launched a ballistic missile 2800 miles into space, for 50 minutes.

The distance and duration were both new records for the rogue regime.

"I suspect that the latest test has a little bit to do with the fact that the United States has declared that North Korea is a sponsor of terrorism. Therefore there’s a tit for tat going on here. Kim Jong Un typically responds to bullying and provocations, and that’s possibly why the tests took place," said Naval War College Professor Mark Genest.

Tuesday’s test was one of 15 ballistic missile launches by North Korea just this year.

But Genest says this one could prove to be a key moment.

"The tests had been put off for several months, and there was some hope that the Chinese and the Americans had put enough pressure on Kim Jong Un to at least halt testing for a while. And this demonstrates that their nuclear program is going," said Genest.

President Trump’s response Tuesday was toned way down from his "fire and fury" comments in August, saying Tuesday, "We will take care of it. It is a situation that we will handle."

But the response was also vague–unclear as to how the situation would be handled.

"In my opinion what I would do is a carry the stick approach. And the stick would be the threat of war, anti-missile defense systems," said Genest.

Genest says the critical component going forward is diplomacy.

"What we’re looking for is a high level meeting that includes, the Chinese, the Japanese, the South and North Koreans, at a negotiation table, talking about trying to get over these problems. And until that happens, I don’t think we’re going to see any progress," said Genest.

Genest stresses that despite the long distance of Tuesday’s missile launch, North Korea still does not currently have the capability of reaching the West Coast of the United States, let alone Rhode Island or Massachusetts.