For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sandy Jones: (805) 965-3443; sjones@napf.org
Rick Wayman: (805) 696-5159; rwayman@napf.org
Minuteman III Missile Test Launched from Vandenberg Early Tuesday Morning
Less than two months ago, U.S. and North Korea held a summit, jointly committing to North Korea’s denuclearization. What kind of message does missile test send?
Vandenberg–The U.S. is scheduled to test a Minuteman III Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) carrying a mock nuclear warhead early Tuesday morning between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. This particular test is just a month-and-half after the high-stakes summit between the U.S. and North Korea, in which Trump and Kim Jong-un signed a vaguely-worded statement, agreeing to “work toward complete denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.”
What kind of message is the U.S. sending to North Korea with this missile test? Rick Wayman, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, noted, “This is the same class of missiles for which the U.S. has been highly critical of the North Koreans for developing and testing. How can the United States demand North Korea’s good faith on denuclearization while the U.S. continues its own ICBM testing? The hypocrisy is nothing new, but what stands out with this test is the potential for blowing up the peace process underway with North Korea.”
It is widely recognized that the path to North Korean denuclearization will be anything but smooth. In fact, after Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, went to Pyongyang to continue negotiations after the June summit, North Korea criticized the U.S. for having a stance that was “… regrettable, gangster-like and cancerous.”
David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, commented, “With its continuing missile tests, the U.S. is itself doing what it seeks to stop other countries from doing. If the U.S. were serious about achieving global denuclearization, it would be showing leadership toward that end. Instead, it continues to test its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles. Hypocrisy will never achieve the desired goal of a nuclear weapons-free world.”
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If you would like to interview David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation or Rick Wayman, Deputy Director, please call the Foundation at (805) 965-3443.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons and to empower peace leaders. Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations. For more information, visit wagingpeace.org.