North Korea launches ICBM as Trump waits for China

7/4/20147

President Trump stood by as North Korea conducted it's tenth missile test of the year. The total surpasses the entire number of tests conducted under Obama's two terms. Yesterday's launch was of an ICBM, which many analyst predict had the range to reach Alaska. A listing of the previous nine launches can be found here : - North Korea missile tests -

In fact, the launched missile was launched nearly vertical, and reached an altitude of 1,741 miles. The missile would have needed to be aimed more horizontally to reach its maximum range. None the less, this was a new missile configuration from what has been seen in the past. The test lasted 37 minutes, setting a new record for North Korea. North Korea continues unabated in developing a weapon system capable of threatening the United States mainland.

After almost six months in office, President Trump has not disclosed a strategy to deal with the North Korean threat. Instead, his tweets indicate that he is relying on China to solve the issue. China's trade with North Korea has actually increased 40% during the past quarter, and it appears China has little concern over North Korea's actions as it has not announced any new or potential sanctions against it's trading partner.

North Korea has not threatened China like they have the United States. North Korea has broadcast mock nuclear attacks against the United States, and have threatened US Navy submarines in that part of the world. The North Korean threat is primarily a threat to the United States, not to China. The question is whether Trump will confront the threat to the United States, or will he continue to stand by hoping China will take steps to protect us?