World War 3: North Korea Launches Yet Another Failed Missile Test Amid Warnings From China And The U.S.

It almost seems as though Kim Jong-un doesn’t care much about the threats he has been receiving from China and the U.S. According to U.S. military and South Korean officials, North Korea tested yet another ballistic missile early on Saturday morning. The test took place in a location north of the capital Pyongyang, and sources claim that the launch was a failure, Express reports.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the JCS, released a statement earlier today regarding the matter.

“North Korea fired an unidentified missile from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province) early this morning.”

Media in South Korea have claimed that the launch was a failure, pointing out that the missile blew up just a few seconds after launch. United States officials said that they tracked the launch and were at the moment trying to figure out the class of the missile. Early reports suggested that it was a KN-17, an intermediate range missile. Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command, informed the media that the launch had taken place at approximately 9:30 p.m. BST and took place near the Pukchang airfield.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about the launch, only minutes after the news broke, writing “North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!”

North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2017

In an exclusive interview with Reuters earlier this week, President Trump was all praises for Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he had hailed for trying his best to help the U.S. in dealing with North Korea.

“I believe he is trying very hard. He certainly doesn’t want to see turmoil and death. He doesn’t want to see it. He is a good man. He is a very good man and I got to know him very well. With that being said, he loves China and he loves the people of China. I know he would like to be able to do something, perhaps it’s possible that he can’t.”

China, one of North Korea’s few and historically its most powerful ally, has indeed been warning North Korea about its missile and nuclear tests. If the latest launch was indeed a failure, as initial reports suggest, this will also have been North Korea’s fourth failed missile launch since March. Tensions between North Korea and the international community have been high for the past month, with rumors of World War 3 floating around.

During the same interview with Reuters on Thursday, President Donald Trump had hinted that a “major, major conflict” was indeed on its way.

“There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely.”

President Trump said that he and his administration were still looking for a non-military path, such as added economic sanctions, to deal with North Korea. Trump said that the U.S. would love to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner.

“We’d love to solve things diplomatically but it’s very difficult.”

With North Korea refusing to stand down on its nuclear and missile programs and threats, it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid some form of conflict in the near future that could possibly lead to a full blown war and eventually a World War.

During the interview, Trump also spoke of the man at the center stage of all this, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump said that he believed Kim would eventually act rationally, accepting diplomatic solutions to the issue. Trump seemed somewhat sympathetic of the 33-year-old, pointing out how he had to take over his country and all the pressure that comes with it at a young age.

[Featured Image by Keith Tarrier/Shutterstock]