Gold at $1270 as North Korea Fires Missile; Lands in Japan Waters

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile; Lands In Japan Waters

We are scouring looking for video, when we get it, we will post. 

Gold spikes a couple bucks on the news. Beware when Gold and the USD strengthen in emerging events. Look at all those long wicks above the market on  the minute chart below. Someone is trying to sell. And we know big players like event liquidity as a way to get out. 

That said, if the buying is absorbed, then we like $1282 next. We are out of 2/3 of our VBS trade 

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North Korea launched an unidentified projectile into the sea off Japan on Friday, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK announced, citing government officials.

North Korea launched an unidentified projectile into the sea off Japan on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told public broadcaster NHK. The missile reportedly may have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, he noted.

The Pentagon confirmed Friday morning that it had detected a ballistic missile launch from Pyongyang, Reuters added.

The move is the latest military provocation from the regime of Kim Jong Un, who has conducted a spate of missile tests since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January. The reclusive nation most recently fired its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile this month around America’s Fourth of July holiday, a weapon experts say may be capable of reaching Alaska.

Intelligence agencies said recently they expect Kim to have a successful ICBM that’s able to reach most of the U.S. within a year, far shorter than the four-year timeline they had originally expected. The New York Times reports the new, expedited calendar comes as officials realize the extent to which Kim wants such weaponry, which could eventually be fitted with a nuclear weapon.

Some had speculated the North could conduct another test launch around the July 27 anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, although both the Pentagon and South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said there was no indication of an imminent later in the month. The country had appeared to be transporting vehicles carrying ICBM equipment earlier in July. 

South Korea took steps to propose holding military and humanitarian talks with the North early in July, the first such plans since 2014. However, the North did not respond to the invitation.

Pyongyang state media recently took aim at Trump, however, and called on the U.S. to “withdraw the anachronistic hostile police toward North Korea and kneel and apologize to its army and people.”

However, CIA Director Mike Pompeo alluded in July that no such thing would happen any time soon, saying it would “be a great thing to denuclearize the peninsula, to get those weapons off of that, but the thing that is most dangerous about it is the character who holds the control over them today.”

“As for the regime, I am hopeful we will find a way to separate that regime from this system,” Pompeo said during a panel moderated by Times columnist Bret Stephens. “The North Korean people I’m sure are lovely people and would love to see him go.”

Jesselyn Cook contributed reporting.

via ZH:

Perhaps sensing that Trump is rather vulnerable right now, and confirming reports from two days ago that an ICBM launch is imminent, moments ago Japan's NHK reported that North Korea has fired "what appears to be a missile" which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Pentagon, as reported by Fox news, confirms that NORTH KOREA has indeed launched a ballistic missile, and is assessing the results.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says on comments carried on TV that North Korea has again launched a missile, which may have landed in the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, confirming an earlier report by NHK which said the missile may have landed in the waters near Japan, citing Japan Coast Guard. NHK adds that Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to give briefly shortly.

According to VoA, atatement from the Dept of Defense is expected soon on the latest DPRK missile launch.

As Citi writes, the current confused US and China policy on North Korea is doing little to stem these tests. On Wednesday we reported that NKorea was preparing for another launch. Meanwhile the Washington Post reported earlier this week that NK will likely be able to produce a nuclear-capable warhead by 2018 – a full two years ahead of schedule.

USDKRW has moved by 25bps so far on this news.

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