Thaad test set to ratchet up tensions in Korean peninsula

IN the wake of the climax of last Saturday's Group of Twenty (G-20) summit in Hamburg, the United States is leading a fresh charge at the United Nations Security Council this week to secure support for intensified sanctions against North Korea. This follows Pyongyang's test of a missile last week which appears to have had the range to reach Alaska and potentially other US states on the country's western seaboard.

With this milestone achievement making the US homeland looking increasingly vulnerable, US President Donald Trump could soon be facing into his first major foreign policy crisis. And this may require him to make some big decisions very soon on how to tackle Pyongyang's provocations.

Coinciding with the UN diplomacy, the US and South Korea will also conduct in coming days the first test of the controversial Thaad (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile system. Condemned by North Korea, China and Russia, Thaad is being deployed by the US in South Korea as a means to potentially intercept missiles launched by Pyongyang.