Nuclear weapons watch

North Korea continues missile tests despite threats from US and neighbors

“The shield stands guard, and the sword stands ready.”

These bold and clear words spoken by Vice President Mike Pence while addressing U.S. military personnel regarding North Korea’s apparent missile test failure, speaks to the tension building between the two countries.

Following the seemingly botched trial missile launch, President Trump’s call to prepare for action came flooding through various media sites.

While Trump has made it clear in several interviews he would like China to make the first move of action against North Korea’s nuclear program, CNN cited Senator Chris Van Hollen saying North Korea’s nuclear program could be experiencing an urgent security threat with the recent developments revealing themselves through the failed test.

Conspiracies and various ideas as to what the closed off country of North Korea could be saying through this demonstration has ranged anywhere from a message of war, a decoy or a sign that the country in question is clearly susceptible to being overthrown soon if incidences such as these continue to occur.

Either way, there is a tension rising to the surface directed both from and towards the totalitarian dictatorship country.

So what does this inevitable discord mean for the American people? While stark reality and cold truth are definitely not what anyone wants to hear, the world of today will not look anything like the world a decade from now.

We are in a time of immense change within our country, as is the rest of the world following our lead.

Society and culture are making groundbreaking headway, for better and for worse, with the assistance of modern technology that has led to a phenomenon of fast-paced change and action.

Information and breaking news shared instantly across the globe, along with fake news, creates a generation of presumptuous and over-informed individuals.

I believe it is factors such as these that have created, and will continue to develop a greater discord between North Korea and its opposition within the coming months.

Following the missile fiasco, all eyes, not just military personnel, will be watching.

While I want to weigh in on this subject with a bit less of a right or left-winged political stance, the words of Mike Pence are words I not only agree with, but stand beside.

We as a country need to be ready for any form of action to occur. Whether it be offensive or defensive action, our world is changing, with that change comes greater challenges.

Will we as a nation be prepared?

Longie is an opinion writer.