The war drums are beating louder, and as US Ambassador to the UN Nicky Haley said moments ago as she speaks live (webcast), the North Korea launch is clear, sharp military escalation and the US will use the full range of its capabilities in North Korea including military force, "if it must." Her key soundbites from Reuters and Bloomberg:
Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,
While the world watches in jest as Japanese residents prepare for the possibility of a confrontation with North Korea by panic buying nuclear shelters and air purifiers, we may soon realize that their efforts to desperately acquire protective gear and equipment for nuclear disaster were quite prescient.
S&P futures were little changed at 2,425, ignoring the N.Korea tensions of the past two days which will likely be a major topic in the upcoming G-20 summit, as European stocks fluctuate and Asian markets advance. Crude oil fell, snapping the longest winning streak this year, as Russia said it opposed any proposal to deepen OPEC-led production cuts.
In response to the overnight news that North Korea had conducted its first ever ICBM test - despite both the US and Russia saying the Hwaswong 14 missile launched was at beast an intermediate-range rocket...
... moments ago Sec. State Rex Tillerson issued a statement, in which he said that "testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world."
There was something different - and symbolic - about last night's North Korean ballistic missile launch which not coincidentally took place on US Independence Day, because shortly after the event, North Korea announced it would have an important announcement to make.