, Columnist
North Korea Missile Salvo Hits the Law of Diminishing Returns
These days, markets are more concerned with Jerome Powell than Kim Jong Un. So what’s Pyongyang’s game plan?
An unprecedented salvo.
Photographer: Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images
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After 27 missile launches in two days, including a long-range projectile that failed to overpass Japan and another that crossed a nautical border with South Korea, one thing is clear: North Korea is getting diminishing returns from its theatrics.
During the “fire and fury” era in 2017, a missile overpass of Japan caused gold to rise, Japanese stocks to fall and Treasuries to rally, as a military confrontation seemed to some to be inevitable. These days, markets are more concerned with Jerome Powell than Kim Jong Un.