A North Korea expert told Fox News Digital that the United States ‘can never take their eye off’ Kim Jong Un and the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang test-fired a missile this week amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Missile Test Details

The launch of the short-range ballistic missile — which Japan said landed in the waters off North Korea’s east coast — unfolded Thursday ahead of joint military exercises to be conducted by the U.S. and South Korea later this month.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said ‘There’s this unsettled conflict on the Korean Peninsula. And Kim Jong Un, a very unpredictable leader that seeks attention, that is something the United States can never take their eye off,’

Montgomery added that ‘whenever North Korea does a ballistic missile launch, you have to think there’s any of three countries that could be the intended recipient of the message — it could be the United States, it could be South Korea, it can be Japan or it could be a mix.’

US Response

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said following North Korea’s launch on Thursday that, ‘We are aware of the missile launch and are consulting closely with our allies and partners.’ ‘Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies,’ it added.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.