North Korea Likely to Fire Missile Toward Hawaii in Coming Weeks

In what would have to be considered the boldest move yet out of Pyongyang and Kim Jong Il, a Japanese newspaper is reporting that North Korea may test fire a long-range missile toward Hawaii in early July. Obviously, that would heighten existing tension and may lead to more direct action from the U.S. military and its international allies. But for now, it remains to be seen exactly what North Korea intends to do.

Intelligence reports suggest that the test fire would use a missile capable of traveling about 4000 miles. Hawaii is roughly 4500 miles from the likely launch site of the missile. With all of this on the heels of multiple nuclear tests by North Korea, they are making their position very clear: they want to be considered a serious threat to the United States and the rest of the world.

And while the U.S. can simply not afford another long-term engagement with a rogue nation - they've got their hands full with two such engagements at the moment - they likely won't sit idly by while North Korea flexes its nuclear muscles.

At this point, even China and Russia seem to be concerned with North Korea's actions, with both nations expressing their wish for the situation to be resolved through diplomatic means. With an already overwhelming foreign policy agenda on its plate, the Obama administration is going to be forced to deal with North Korea in the very near future.