{"id":30486,"date":"2019-12-17T20:15:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T20:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/17\/north-korean-christmas-gift-to-the-us-could-be-a-long-range-ballistic-missile-test\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:32:24","slug":"north-korean-christmas-gift-to-the-us-could-be-a-long-range-ballistic-missile-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/12\/17\/north-korean-christmas-gift-to-the-us-could-be-a-long-range-ballistic-missile-test\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean \u2018Christmas gift\u2019 to the US could be a long-range ballistic missile test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Air Force\u2019s top general in the Asia-Pacific<\/a> region believes North Korea\u2019s \u201cChristmas gift\u201d to the United States<\/a> could be the test of a long-range ballistic missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although North Korea has continued tests of short-range ballistic missiles, the country halted nuclear and long-range missiles tests in 2017 in the wake of diplomatic talks with the United States. But unless those discussions bear fruit before the end of the year<\/a>, North Korea will send a cryptic \u201cChristmas gift\u201d to the United States, the country has warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I would expect is some kind of long-range ballistic missile would be the \u2018gift,\u2019 \u201d Gen. Charles Brown, head of Pacific Air Forces, told reporters Dec. 17. \u201cDoes it come on Christmas Eve? Does it come on Christmas Day? Does it come after the new year? One of my responsibilities is to pay attention to that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When pressed on what form a long-range missile test could take, Brown acknowledged that it was also possible that the end of 2019 could pass without a major launch by North Korea \u2014 even if the Asian country quietly decides to end its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown declined to say whether the U.S. military has noticed an uptick of movement around North Korean launch sites or if it had indications of what kind of missile could be used. However, he noted that North Korea has already publicly acknowledged test activity at launch sites in recent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\t