courtesy of CNN
North Korea has fired another ballistic missile, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff. The missile flew towards the east, going higher than any shot North Korea had previously taken, according to Defense Secretary James Mattis. The South Korean military is sharing information with the US.  This has escalated the tension between North Korea and the rest of the world. The regime said Wednesday that it had successfully tested its Hwasong-15, a newly developed ICBM that it said could deliver heavy nuclear warheads anywhere in the continental United States.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed greater concern, emphasizing what he said were technical advances on display in the 53-minute flight, which began when the missile was launched northeast of the capital, Pyongyang, and ended nearly 600 miles to the east, when it landed in the Sea of Japan. Experts said this latest launch — which landed west of the northern end of Honshu, Japan’s largest island — exhibited characteristics that underscored the increasing sophistication of North Korea’s program. The missile flew higher and for a longer duration than two previous intercontinental ballistic missile launches, which flew for 37 minutes on July 4 and for 47 minutes on July 28.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan each called meetings of their national security councils to discuss the North’s latest provocation. President Trump called both leaders on Tuesday, at their request, according to the White House.

North Korea has persisted in its nuclear weapons and missile development despite the sanctions that the Security Council has imposed since its first nuclear test in 2006. This year, the regime has increased the frequency of missile tests, sending two missiles over Japan in August and September, while demonstrating technical progress that suggested it had developed the ability to strike the continental United States. Preparations are already in action, and more are being made as time passes. Although tensions are rising and people are filled with trepidation, the sanctions and defenses against North Korea may be able to affect the regime’s actions.

ERHS student Cher Wang states that “[she] heard about it.” She adds that “things are getting worse between North Korea and the world.”