Over the Fourth of July, North Korea escalated an ever more perilous conflict with the West by launching an illegal missile test. The test led to immense fallout for the hermit nation. The ICBM launch, which North Korea conducted, was roundly criticized by leaders around the globe and has led to the Trump administration searching in new directions to defuse the conflict.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, took to the floor of the U.N. Security Council to decry the recent actions by North Korea. In her golves-off comments, Haley condemned the launch, saying it’s “destabilizing escalation is a threat to all nations in the region” before outlining America’s potential actions in response.

Haley did not beat around the bush, citing America’s ‘“considerable military forces” and stating clearly, “we will use them, if we must.”
The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force are now conducting a series of joint military drills in and around the Korean peninsula. The move has infuriated North Korean leadership. Secretary of Defense James Mattis called North Korea the world’s “most urgent and dangerous threat.”