Maybe so. I don’t think a NK missile launch into the ocean triggers a military response they way we traditionally think of it, e.g. all-out war.
What it could trigger (I hope) is that the US shoots down the next missile they launch and every missile afterwards. I have been saying that for a long time. Shooting down their missiles would effectively neutralize their threat.
Shooting down their missiles would effectively neutralize their threat.
*************
That would be preferable to war, of course, but then what would Kim do as he is being humiliated by our ability to knock down his missiles? Would this really neutralize the threat? Or would he decide to retaliate against our forces in South Korea and/or the densely populated city of Seoul just 35 miles away using his 15,000 artillery pieces along the DMZ? It sounds suicidal but we don’t know what he’s capable of doing.
China is the wild card in all this. What would they do? Its a momentous decision for Trump, no question about it.