Van Hipp:
Well you know it’s the New Year when North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is threatening a new ballistic missile or nuclear test. This time, though, Kim Jong-un is saying the “Hermit Kingdom” is in the final stages of preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This would be Pyongyang’s first test of an ICBM.
For years, right after Iran made news, we could always count on the North Korean dictator’s late father, Kim Jong-il, to try and grab headlines with the latest test of the Taepodong Missile, which usually failed on the launch pad or broke apart in pieces over the Pacific Ocean. The Taepodong Missile is North Korea’s version of Iran’s Shahab Missile.
In recent years, new ballistic missile tests, additional nuclear tests, and the successful launch of the Unha-3 rocket, tell us a great deal about the current leadership situation in North Korea and the maturity and capability of their technology. In fact, North Korea conducted over 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016 and has conducted 7 nuclear tests in the last decade, with 2 of those also coming in 2016.
So much for those Western reporters who wondered if Kim Jong-un would be different from his father. They pointed to his “western education,” love of the National Basketball Association, indifference towards politics and fondness for James Bond movies. Clearly, Kim Jong-un is a “chip off the old block” from both his father, and his grandfather and founder of the North Korean regime, Kim Il-sung.
Most concerning to me in recent years has been North Korea’s ability to launch the long range Unha-3 rocket to successfully get 2 satellites in space. The Unha-3 uses the same delivery technology as the Taepodong-2 Missile and is believed to have a range of at least 6,200 miles, well within the range of California. Several observers believe Kim Jong-un’s threatened ICBM test could come on January 8th, the North Korean ruler’s birthday or on January 20th, the date of the U.S. Presidential Inaugural.
President-elect Donald Trump will have to deal with many national security challenges when he becomes our 45th President on January 20th. These range from cyber attacks, radical Islam, securing our borders and rebuilding our military. The North Korean threat, with its combined nuclear and ballistic missile technology capability, must rank near the top.
On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump called the Iranian nuclear deal “the stupidest deal of all time” and said his top priority would be to “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.” With regards to North Korea, candidate Trump said he wanted China to get more involved to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program. He’s been right about both Iran and China. As he now confronts the North Korean nuclear threat, it will be important for our new President to remember the real link between Iran and North Korea. In short, Iran has been the “great enabler” of the national security threat America faces today from North Korea. Consider the facts:
