The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has tested a new ballistic missile in defiance of UN security council rulings. The DPRK has edged even closer to being a nuclear-armed state that is capable of reaching the US mainland. The dream of the DPRK of having a full nuclear deterrent against invasion by the US and its allies is nearing completion.

During the Wednesday early morning darkness, the Hwasong-15 missile was fired in the direction of Japan landing 250 kilometres from their shore. Several international sources have confirmed that the missile reached higher than any previous test. It showed there has been a significant technological advancement in the program.

The launch drew the condemnation of the international community. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to deal with the situation. The general consensus was that new sanctions were to be placed on the DPRK in an attempt to prevent any further tests. The new measures are unlikely to have any significant impact on such actions.

The new test shows that the DPRK is capable of hitting the US mainland according to the BBC:

An expert, Michael Duitsman, a research associate at the Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, says that the missile is much larger than those previously tested. It is significantly larger than the Hwasong-14. he said, “Only a few countries can produce missiles of this size, and North Korea just joined the club.” Others have noted that the missile possesses more sophisticated steering and thrusters. Pyongyang said it achieved a height of 4,475km (2,780 miles).

This new development is a game changer for the situation between the DPRK and the US. It was previously claimed that such missile technology was still a few years away. Once again the DPRK has defied the claims about their technological ability. They seem to be consistently far more advanced than is estimated by imperialist analysts.

Those same sources still claim that it will be another two years before the DPRK can mount a nuclear-armed warhead on such missile technology.

As per usual the US and other denounced the move calling it an “act of provocation”. US president Donald Tramp said in a public statement, “we’ll take care of it.”

While Russia has denounced the launch, they’ve also denounced the US. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US of seeking to provoke North Korea into stepping up its nuclear missile programme. As the US continues to threaten the DPRK over their right to produce a means of self-defence, the DPRK is increasingly justified in developing such technology.

Since the DPRK began advancing such technology, the US has become increasingly concerned that they’ll have a strong capacity to defend itself. One thing the US cannot tolerate is anyone being able to stand up for themselves and resist US influence.

The US is running out of options to stop the DPRK from having significant nuclear weapons technology. Tensions have increased over their development and may be “forced” to seek more proactive actions. The US has already said that their “strategic patience” is over, yet there has been no change in their orientation towards the country – or recommendations for punishment for weapons testing. What the US will end up doing now is anyone’s guess.

It should be noted that this increase in tensions between the countries comes as there are strong rumours that the current US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is about to be replaced by President Trump. Senior administration officials have said that he will be replaced with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director. There is a good deal of speculation over why Tillerson is being removed. Some have suggested that Trump is frustrated with his efforts to negotiate with the DPRK behind the scenes.

What this situation is going to escalate to is yet to be determined. It does seem that the US is losing patience with itself over the DPRK’s nuclear program and it’s inability to halt it.