A new crisis is brewing on the Korean Peninsula. In mid-February, North Korea conducted an intermediate-range ballistic missile test. On March 1, the United States and South Korea began a joint military exercise that is unprecedented in scale and intensity.
These military drills will run until the end of April, and will include a significant number of ground, air and naval forces from both countries, including strategic assets such as B-52 bombers and the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. And, despite objections from Russia and China, the U.S. is accelerating its deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea.
On the same day that the U.S. and South Korea began their military drills, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the headquarters of Large Combined Unit 966 of the Korean People's Army. Five days later, the North launched four ballistic missiles, three of which reportedly landed within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The tests have led most experts to believe that North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities, and that by 2020 it may be able to affix miniaturized nuclear warheads onto long-range missiles capable of reaching the continental U.S.