Tension mounts for U. S., N. Korea

Neither nation shows willingness to back down

A feared military confrontation between North Korea and the United States didn’t materialize over the weekend, but tensions between the two countries remain dangerously high for the indefinite future.

A failed test of a mediumrange ballistic missile that blew up almost immediately Sunday did not provoke a U. S. military response. Even so, North Korea has made progress with its nuclear weapons and missile programs and is led by an unpredictable dictator, Kim Jong Un, who views America’s new president as a threat. That won’t change anytime soon.

President Trump has vowed that he

will not allow North Korea to develop a long- range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon that can strike the United States, and Kim has vowed to pursue that very goal to prevent a pre- emptive U. S. strike. Last week, North Korea warned that the two countries were edging toward nuclear war.

The U. S. military was watching North Korea intently Saturday as it marked the 105th birthday of founding leader Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un. North Korea traditionally marks the occasion with shows of military strength, including nuclear or missile tests. This time, it paraded its latest missile hardware through the capital Pyongyang, showing off many new weapons. They included a new short- range missile and the country’s latest submarine- launched missile.

Ahead of the celebration, the Pentagon dispatched a carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula, and Trump delivered an unspecified threat: “North Korea is a problem. The problem will be taken care of.”

The North Koreans did not test a nuclear weapon, which would have been its sixth test since 2006, a far more provocative move than a missile test. The U. S. military confirmed Sunday’s test was a dud.

Still, the U. S. showed no sign of backing down in the face of North Korea’s increasingly belligerent rhetoric and actions. Vice President Pence, who arrived Sunday in Seoul as part of a 10- day Asian trip, said, “Our resolve has never been stronger, our commitment to this historic alliance with the courageous people of South Korea has never been stronger, and with your help and God’s help, freedom will ever prevail on this peninsula.”

Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, said on ABC’s This Week that the missile test “fits into a pattern of provocative and destabilizing and threatening behavior on the part of the North Korean regime.” He added that “there’s an international consensus now — including the Chinese and the Chinese leadership— that this is a situation that just can’t continue.”

The U. S. has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea.