North Korea continued its defiance of the international community with the test of yet another ballistic missile Wednesday morning. In response to this latest outrage, concerned governments continue to try to muster a concerted effort to constrain North Korean behavior and get Pyongyang to end its provocations, return to compliance with the nuclear nonproliferation regime and become a responsible and law-abiding member of the community of nations. Still, flaws in the strategy to do so remain unfixed and must be remedied if this effort is to succeed.
North Korea conducted its third test of what is thought to be an intercontinental ballistic missile — following the first two in July — in the early hours of Wednesday. The missile traveled approximately 1,000 km in 53 minutes before landing about 250 km west of Aomori Prefecture in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.
Significantly, the missile traveled on a "lofted" trajectory, meaning that it went farther into the atmosphere — higher than 4,000 km in altitude — to test its engines and potential range, without threatening distant countries. The flight parameters have forced most observers to conclude that if the missile had flown on a standard trajectory, it would have been capable of traveling 13,000 km, which would put the east coast of the United States within its range.