United States Responds to North Korea’s Threatening Missile Fire with Tests of its Own

In an allied response to North Korea’s unforeseeable missile fire over Japan, the United States and South Korea both fired test missiles on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. 

The relationship between the United States and North Korea has largely remained tense and unsteady since the Korean War. Over recent years, this connection has been further strained due to Pyongyang’s unpredictable nature, refusal to cooperate with the US, and its ceaseless efforts to intimidate South Korea and its other neighbors. 

North Korea’s unannounced missile launch on Oct. 4 caused widespread panic and confusion in Japan, prompting the United States to condemn the missile strikes.

According to news reports, this has been the first North Korean missile launch to fly over Japan in the past 5 years. The missile strike flew 2850 miles over Japan prior to dropping in the Pacific Ocean, reaching an all-time new record for the farthest North Korean missile strike yet.

Both the US and South Korea generally respond to the North Korean nuclear tests by exhibiting their own missile capabilities. The nations jointly fired short-range ballistic missiles of their own off the east coast of the Korean peninsula. In the aftermath, North Korea launched two more missiles in retaliation.

In comparing the respective nuclear programs of North and South Korea, news outlet Al-Jazeera discovered that North Korea conducted an immense number of nuclear tests this year alone. CNN confirmed this was the 23rd missile launch of 2022. Within this week, the US, South Korean, and Japanese militaries confirmed that North Korea conducted 4 rounds of missile tests, forcing the three allies to remain on high alert.

The US has been quick to contact its allies to discuss this latest North Korean activity. In a 25-minute phone call with US president Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his concerns regarding North Korea’s latest missile launch, stating that North Korea manifested a threat to Japanese and international peace and stability. 

Afterwards, the US and five other countries pushed for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss how to handle North Korea’s recent missile launch. The results of the meeting left the council divided, with Russia and China accusing the US military of provoking North Korea into conducting the missile test.

For years, the US has urged North Korea to end its nuclear program in an attempt to draw down tensions in the region.

In 1985, North Korea agreed to sign a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NNT) with the US. The treaty emphasized the prevention of using and promoting nuclear weapons during conflict with a foreign country. Despite the agreement, North Korea secretly proceeded to produce and test nuclear weapons. In 1993, North Korea challenged its relationship with the US by refusing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear inspections within the country. 

At the time, former President Bill Clinton briefly considered using military force—an idea his administration ultimately avoided, given the plan’s immense potential to spark all-out conflict on the Korean Peninsula. To further complicate matters, North Korea threatened to leave the NNT, compelling the US to hold additional talks with North Korea in 1994 freezing their ongoing nuclear program. 

Since 1984 to present-day, North Korea has conducted more than 150 missile tests, continuously breaching its treaties with the US. Frequent efforts made by the US to denuclearize North Korea have been considered by the Kim regime, but the Korean nation has yet to fully implement the agreements.