Former Joint Chiefs Head: Tensions With N. Korea Have Potential to 'Explode'

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. 

The U.S. military often performs routine tests for missiles. Yet, even something routine can become precarious during an extraordinary period of tension, like the one between the U.S. and North Korea.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Air Force tested an intercontinental ballistic missile — a Minuteman-3 to be exact — from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Meanwhile, North Korea tested two ICBMs in the past month, and the most recent one was aimed at Japan last Friday.

"The flight time of the Friday launch lasted longer, had a longer range along the ground, and also had a much higher altitude," Melissa Hanham told The Takeaway. She's a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "So while it doesn't seem super useful to launch so close to Japan, if you were to take that curve and instead launch at a lower angle to the U.S., it likely puts much of the U.S. in range of this missile."

North Korea has fired 18 missiles during 12 tests since February. As tension between North Korea and the Trump Administration continues to ramp up, many are wondering: Is military action against North Korea wise? Is it even possible? 

Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011, explains what military action in North Korea would entail. Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear the full conversation. 

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.