Minuteman III Missile Test Launched Prior to USA-North Korea Summit

NEWS, ANGLO AMERICA, MILITARISM, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, 21 May 2018

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation- TRANSCEND Media Service

14 May 2018 – The U.S. tested a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a mock nuclear warhead early morning today from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The U.S. typically conducts three to four ICBM tests each year. This test comes less than a month prior to the high-stakes summit between the U.S. and North Korea that is aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

What kind of message is the U.S. sending to North Korea with this latest launch when these are the same class of missiles for which the U.S. has been highly critical of the North Koreans for developing and testing?

David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, commented,

”When it comes to ballistic missile tests, the U.S. continues to operate on a hypocritical double standard. Its own missile tests and those of its allies are treated as necessary and business-as-usual, while the missile tests of non-allied countries are treated as provocative and dangerous. What the world needs is a single standard aimed at ending the nuclear arms race and achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.  It also needs U.S. leadership rather than U.S. hypocrisy.”

One month ago, Kim Jong-un suspended nuclear and missile tests in North Korea and stated that he will shut down the site where the previous six nuclear tests had been conducted. One cannot help but view this as a sign of good faith on the part of North Korea heading into the negotiations with the United States. As its own sign of good faith, the U.S. should also cancel all its planned ballistic missile tests prior to its summit meeting with North Korea.

__________________________________________

 The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons and to empower peace leaders. Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations. For more information, visit wagingpeace.org.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 21 May 2018.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: Minuteman III Missile Test Launched Prior to USA-North Korea Summit, is included. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

Comments are closed.