US and South Korea Discuss ‘Military Options’ Against North Korea

Officials Consider 'Military Response' to Missile Test

The latest missile test by North Korea has US and South Korean military officials once again ratcheting up their threats, saying they have been discussing “military options” including a potential military response against North Korea for the test.

This is a continuation of what has basically been several months of non-stop threats by the Trump Administration that they might attack North Korea at any moment, with the missile test just the latest in a long line of justifications for a war.

This is the second putative ICBM test by North Korea this month, and once again officials’ first response is to declare the launch not only a success, but a grave threat to the international order. It should be noted that narrative didn’t last very long the previous time.

After declaring it a successful ICBM test, South Korea later declared the last missile to lack re-entry technology, meaning it wasn’t really an ICBM at all, and Pentagon officials later conceded that the missile had no guidance system, meaning it posed little real threat at long range.

The hyping of the threat is always more vocal than the subsequent admissions that it was overstated, however, and the US is likely to continue that trend, pushing for moves against North Korea at the UN, and of course threatening military action.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.