Boom.
Literally.
- N. KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE: YONHAP CITES S. KOREA JCS
- JAPAN COAST GUARD SAYS MISSILE FALLS IN SEA NEAR JAPAN: EMAIL
Just when you thought it was safe to buy more risk assets after Jerome Powell pleased markets in Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Kim Jong-Un is going to go ahead and grab the spotlight. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff the missile was fired from South Pyongan Province and flew eastward.
It’s worth noting that Japan tipped this yesterday, although there have been any number of occasions over the past several months when Pyongyang “disappointed” after sources suggested trouble was brewing. Earlier today, Reuters acknowledged that Washington was likely expecting this. To wit:
U.S. government experts think North Korea could conduct a new missile test within days, in what would be its first launch since it fired a missile over Japan in mid-September, two authoritative U.S. government sources said on Tuesday.
After firing missiles at a rate of about two or three a month since April, North Korea paused its missile launches in late September, after it fired a missile that passed over Japan’s northern Hokkaido island on Sept. 15.
Last week, North Korea denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to relist it as a state sponsor of terrorism, calling it a “serious provocation and violent infringement.”
The reaction was swift in USDJPY:
Gold is on the move as well:
(URGENT) N. Korea fires ballistic missile: S. Korea JCS https://t.co/B4T0AGXaDH
— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) November 28, 2017
South Korea has reportedly staged a “precision strike” missile exercise in response.
More to come.
N. K. keeps firing blanks until we are no longer paying attention – and then it turns out to be N.K.’s version of ‘Russian Roulette,’ but this time the missile was loaded. Goodbye Guam, Hawaii or California.
I’m not saying attack N.K., but it seems like a teachable moment if we can consistently shoot their missiles down shortly after launch. This might even deter the further development of their nuclear weapon capability more than Trump’s grade school level intellect/name calling Kim Jong-un – “Fat,” and or “Little Rocket Man.”