After a months-long pause in its intercontinental ballistic missile tests, North Korea on Nov. 28 conducted the maiden launch of the Hwasong 15 — an ICBM that state media characterized as the rogue nation’s “most powerful” missile yet, topped with a "super-large heavy warhead” and capable of striking the mainland United States.
Nuclear deterrence, the U.S. military ace card that hasn’t been played much since the U.S.S.R. collapsed in a heap, is a hot item again. President Donald Trump remains locked in a months-long war of words with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un over the country’s nuclear program, raising the anxiety over global nuclear war to its highest levels since 1983’s WarGames spurred presidential action (really). The Pentagon is considering returning to a 24-hour “strip alert” for nuclear-capable bombers for the first time since the end of the Cold War. And on Nov. 14, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took a long, hard look at the commander-in-chief’s nuclear launch authority in light of Trump’s unusual first year in office.
North Korea's foreign minister called President Donald Trump's comments at the UN General Assembly a clear "declaration of war" that would lead the country to try to shoot down U.S. strategic bombers even if they're not in North Korea's airspace, according to the BBC.
