Free Republic

The ballistic missile launched by North Korea on May 14 successfully re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, according to analysts, a significant breakthrough for Pyongyang's missile programme. Defence officials in South Korea and the US have confirmed that the launch of the liquid- fuel Hwasong-12 was a success. North Korea claimed that the weapon reached an altitude of 2,111.5 km (1,312 miles) and travelled a distance of 489 miles before breaching Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone and splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

The only good thing about North Korea's nuclear test--aside from the fact that it may have been a dud--is the fact that it has broken the spell of the past two weeks' 1990s re-enactment.I enjoy a good "Seinfeld" episode as much as the next guy, but in hindsight, the famous "show about nothing"--"Seinfeld" always obsessed over the minutiae of life--was a benign symptom of the more ominous underlying affliction of its era: the refusal to face up to the big issues of world events and to take the difficult and unpopular actions necessary to head off looming threats. The Clinton...