North Korea is accelerating preparations for testing a missile that has the potential to strike the United States, a U.S. government official said Friday. A test of the Taepodong-2 long-range missile may be imminent, the official said.
If the North Korean missile test sends that missile anywhere toward Japan (and given the geography, I'm not sure how this could be avoided even if North Korea wanted to avoid Japanese territory), then we or the Japanese should shoot it down.
We have naval vessels with anti-missile radars and missiles plus stuff in Alaska and California.
Although we warned North Korea not to conduct a provocative test, we promised not to shoot it down.
Huh? What's the point of issuing warnings? North Korea is supposed to be deterred because we will be upset? I can see why we wouldn't want to telegraph our intentions, so I hope we aren't just considering sending a sternly worded telegram crafted by our highly refined State Department types.
The Pillsbury Nuke Boy wants to send a message? Fine. Let's send one right back at him.
Shoot down their missile.
UPDATE: North Korea denies it will test a ballistic missile. But the denial doesn't end the question:
North Korea plans to disguise the missile test as an attempt to put a satellite into orbit, Kyodo News agency reported Saturday. Pyongyang has been calculating an orbit for a fake satellite and plans to announce its trajectory after firing the missile, Kyodo reported from Beijing, citing military intelligence officials it did not identify.
North Korea said in 1998 that its launch then was an effort to put a satellite in space, but Washington and Tokyo say that is just a cover for a military program.
The article also notes that the Japanese sent Aegis-equipped destroyers to the Sea of Japan and Pacific. I assume these have some anti-missile capabilities.
