INTERCEPTION

U.S. Considers Shooting Down North Korean Missile Tests

SecDef Mattis has briefed Congress on the option.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis has reportedly briefed Congress on the option to begin shooting down North Korean missile tests as a show of strength to Pyongyang. The Guardian reports the Pentagon is considering the approach in its attempt to find ways to pressure North Korea out of nuclear development without engaging in all-out war. Tensions have been rising in anticipation of Pyongyang’s sixth scheduled nuclear test. “I would see such an action as escalatory, but I couldn’t guess how Kim Jong Un would interpret it,” said Abraham Denmark, who served in former President Obama’s administration as a senior Pentagon policy official for Asia. “But I would be concerned he would feel the need to react strongly, as he would not want to appear weak.”