As we all know, Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in January this year, and it followed that up with a number of missile launches. It would be easy to miss the significance of those missile tests since many were failures. What needs to be recognized, however, is that every failure is still a learning opportunity for the North and that soon enough North Korea will be successful in developing a delivery system for its nuclear weapons.

In the past, Pyongyang has overflown Japan with its tested missiles. This violation of Japan’s sovereign airspace has bothered not only Japan but other nations as well. There have been rumblings in Japan and South Korea – as well as in the U.S. in the past, as it recently came to light – of preemptive strikes to disable or destroy North Korea’s nuclear sites.