A test for missile defense

Opinion Journal:

As we went to press in the U.S. last night, morning was breaking at the Musudan-ri launch facility in the remote northeast of North Korea. It's possible we'll wake up to the news that Pyongyang has tested the long-range ballistic missile that is fully fueled and which U.S. satellites have monitored for more than a month.

If so, we hope we'll also learn that the U.S. responded by testing its newly operational missile defense system and blowing the Korean provocation out of the sky. What better way to discourage would-be nuclear proliferators than to demonstrate that the U.S. is able to destroy their missiles before they hit our allies, or the U.S. homeland. Even a miss would be a useful learning experience all around.

Consider what's at stake. We've known for years that North Korea has several nuclear weapons at the very least and is developing the missile technology to threaten America. Pyongyang's test missile is believed to be a Taepodong-2. A two-stage version could reach Alaska, Hawaii or the West Coast, according to a study in March by the Center for Nonproliferation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, while a three-stage model could reach all of the continental U.S.

North Korea may not yet have the ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead--but then again it may. In any event, it's small comfort that the Taepodong-2 is probably inaccurate. If it misses Seattle, that's not necessarily good news for Tacoma or Portland.

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I have been pushing for this ever since the Norks started fueling their missile. The down side to it is a failure will be a propganda coup for the NY Times and those who want to reamin defeseless or rely solely on agreements with people whose word is no good. But a success would be a devastating loss for the NY Times and the North Koreans and the reward would be worth the risk.