North Korea Launched four ballistics missiles Monday, three of which landed 200 miles off the coast of Japan.
After a meeting with the United Nations Security Council on North Korea today, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that “all options were on the table,” for how the US will respond to these recent missile launches.
“If there is one thing that can keep me up at night it is certainly what’s going on in North Korea,” said Rep. Bill Keating on Boston Public Radio Wednesday.
While the newest display of North Korea’s missile capabilities demonstrates their growing ability to hit distant targets, Keating pointed out that North Korea already has the power to destroy South Korea, and because of established treaties, plunge the US into war.
“We don’t have to wait for the missiles to advance to see what danger exists right now,” said Keating. “ We are not going to be put into war because the missile will reach us here in the US. We are already in a position where them acting the way they have been acting, taking that one step up, could plunge us into a war. This is very important.”
Keating is troubled by the inability to communicate with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “If there is a country in the world that poses any threat that’s more remote and darker than North Korea, I don’t know what that is. We don’t have a situation where we can diplomatically deal with someone because he is impaired mentally and he is dangerous,” he said.
Kim Jong Un is not the only leader that Keating is worried about. He does not have confidence in Trump and his cabinet’s ability to handle a North Korean crisis. “Right now, with the instability that is really real, in the administration, this is a time for concern,” he said.
Listen to our interview with Rep. Bill Keating above.
