AUSTIN BAY ON THE MISSILES BEHIND THE ELVIS SUMMIT:

The six North Korean missiles on Tuesday are big news, but they aren’t the strategic shocker. The shocker occurred in August 1998, when Pyongyang tested a long-range ballistic missile. That launch revitalized the United States-Japanese alliance and blew away any legitimate arguments that the United States could wait to develop and deploy ballistic missile defenses.

Pyongyang’s 1998 test shot demonstrated that Japan and the United States — and for that matter, Europe — are vulnerable to rogue missile attack, and it’s utterly false to argue otherwise. It meant U.S. diplomacy and the world economy are potential hostages to missile blackmail by regional tinpots.

Japan got North Korea’s message. The Japanese also observed China’s steady military modernization and concluded the logical, most impressive and most reliable “strategic balance” to China is the United States. . . .

In May, the Honolulu Bulletin reported that the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie successfully intercepted a target missile using an improved U.S. Navy Standard-2 interceptor missile. The Lake Erie also test-fired an advanced Standard-3 anti-missile missile. Japan has destroyers with the Aegis radar system, which can detect and track ballistic missiles. The Japanese destroyers would operate as electronic eyes for a regional ABM system.

The United States and Japan are also exploring ways to more effectively integrate U.S. and Japanese ground forces. The Japanese military has participated in overseas operations and gained experience. For two years, Japan deployed 5,500 troops in Iraq, and they served quite effectively with other coalition forces.

This seems like another reason — besides those stolen trains — for the Chinese to be unhappy with North Korea.