Provocation Cycle News Today

Give trump the big deal he thought he was going to get. and obviously trump walked away in hanoi. and the north koreans have suggested recently through these short-range missile launches that they may be inching back towards the provocation cycle, in other words, doing thing that the u.s. and its allies in asia dont like as a way to force the u.s. back to the table. >> anna, when you look at it from beijing, does beijing have enough influence with north korea to throw a monkey wrench in this to ...

North cre nkorea? what do they mean? the big worry about their nuclear program is that they make a significant leap forward to develop and be able to deploy a miniaturized nuclear device. why is that so important? you have to miniatureize a nuclear device to put it on the front end of a ballistic missile. thats what delivers a nuclear weapon to its target. it is that miniature zation that concerns the u.s. they are also working on a number of other technologies in their nuclear program. right no...

Is announcing another provocation cycle. artillery shells fell in the water off the coast. an area that has seen a lot of disputes in the past. you see the american v-22s and amphibious vehicles right there. even as these western exercises were taking place. the question really is, how far is north korea going to go with all of this? will there be more provocations and what will happen next? this comes one day after north korea suggested it might conduct another nuclear test. carol? >> i wanted ...

Know as much as soon. >> in this case, in the scenario were in, were possibly looking at being able to see it being in a general location and then to sense a launch. >> reporter: will north korea launch or stand down? locklear says its hard to read kim jong-un. >> his father and grandfather always figured into their provocation cycle an off ramp of how to get out of it, and its not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of it. >> reporter: u.s. officials are working through the a...

Congress. >> do we have the capability to intercept the missile if the north koreans launch within the next several days? >> we do. >> but the bent gopentagon is mt clear we will only intercept if it piers to be targeting u.s. allies or u.s. forces. the great unknown continues to be that guy kim jong-un. his long-term strategy is not entirely clear. >> his father and grandfather as far as i could see always figured into their provocation cycle an off-ramp of how to get out of it. it is not clear...

Japanese territory, interceptor missiles could be used to destroy it. >> i would recommend action if its aimed ought our allies. >> reporter: this launch could be different from previous tests when the u.s. had significant indications on what was about to happen before liftoff. >> to understand the direction of a launch, where it was at. >> reporter: u.s. radars will calculate their trajectory of north koreas road mobile missile. but admits the u.s. wont know as much as soon. >> were probably lo...

>> do we have the capability to intercept a missile if the north koreans launch within the next several days? >> we do. >> on capitol hill today, the u.s. pacific commander warned north korea poses a clear and direct threat to the united states. king jom un appears undeterred his father and grandfather as far as i could see figured into their provocation cycle, an off ramp of how to get out of it. its not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of it. >> thats what makes this cris...

Very good at threatening. whats different about this series? >> well, whats different about this time is that it seems that kim jong un is not getting the messages sent by the state department and the pentagon. >> the father and his grandfather, as far as i can see, always figured into their provocation cycle an off ramp of how to get out of it. and its not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of it. >> the south koreans on the other hand are not panicking but this time they do...

Although no progress came out of it. today the top u.s. military commander in the pacific, admiral samuel locklear testified before the senate armed services committee and said kim jong un is pushing the world further than his father ever dared. >> these unpredictable, more unpredictable. he -- his father and grandfather as far as i can see always figured into their provocation cycle an off ramp of how to get out of it. its not clear to me that he has thought through how to get out of this admir...

Gives testimony today on capitol hill describing north koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles as a clear and direct threat to the united states and our allies in the region. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more on all of this. jennifer, whats the reaction at the pentagon? >> well, jenna, honestly, they are concerned that the young north korean leader is not getting the message. the north koreans have moved the missile to their east...