Why 2016 is proving to be a wild year

WASHINGTON and Seoul are making final preparations for their annual joint military drills in South Korea later this month. The forthcoming events, which have been widely condemned by the North Korean regime, come at a time of escalating tension in the region following Pyongyang's decision last week to test fire a missile into Japanese-controlled waters for the first time.

The stand-off, in which North Korea has threatened a…