Just yesterday, the Institute for Science and International Security said they had captured numerous images of a rocket sitting on a launch pad located in the northeastern region of North Korea. The country’s government has stated they claim to launch the rocket between April 4 and April 8. Though North Korea has said this rocket launch is merely an attempt to send a commercial satellite into space, the act should undoubtedly raise warnings. Just as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates pointed out Sunday, “I don’t know anyone at a senior level in the American government who does not believe this technology is intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

In an unprecedented move, neighboring Japan mobilized its missile defense system to be capable of shooting down any debris from the launch. And the U.S. Navy is not sitting idle either. Ships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles have begun the trek to the Sea of Japan, though Gates noted that the U.S. would act only if the missile or its parts appeared to be heading toward American territory.

To many, the possible rocket launch, along with the March 17 kidnapping of two American journalists by North Korea, seems like another attempt by the country to gain leverage in negotiations with Seoul and the U.S.

Is North Korea a viable risk? Will we ever see their not-so-thinly veiled threats come to fruition?

Emily Holbrook
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