How does one reconcile the execution of the army chief with the launch of a missile, both acts attributed to North Korea in the same week.

Gen. Ri Yong-gil, the army chief of staff since 2013, a pacifist, and had he warned against the missile offensive that now has major repercussions with both Japan and the US seeking sanctions outside the UN canopy.

Such unilateral moves underscore the fear that North Korea under Kim Jong Un is on a hurtle to create a nuclear stockpile and moves the three minutes from Armageddon position of the doomsday clock’s hands by several seconds. Just as a child collects shells on a beach, Kim seems to want to have his big boy dinky toys and have them fast.

The Americans are aghast at the crust shown by North Korea since this blast off comes just a month after the fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.

But being aghast does not really help because there is now an obvious sense of “deja vu” about North Korea’s actions, and one cannot always lay it on the doorstep of the young leader by pointing out his lack of maturity or reading into his actions the tolerance that he is flexing his muscles and we can hope that one day his country will abide by the code of conduct imposed on the comity of nations.

This approach is self delusionary because North Korea is not going to line up, and to be honest, the leash has been so loose there is no pulling in of the slack.

Pyongyang is not going to listen because it seems to enjoy being the renegade and knows fully well that it has the might to deter any military attack on its soil.

The cold-blooded killing of the general ordered by a man who murdered his uncle by cannon fire only shows that the kitchen Cabinet that swirls in sycophancy around the great leader still has the capability to move Kim to dispatching the most bizarre orders.

While the world may roundly condemn the killing and the launch, it really has no response.

Kim Jong Un’s regime has announced the general was corrupt and no one is in any position to question the decision or its lack of merit.

For sure this is going to happen again, the sanctions notwithstanding and somewhere the tensions between Japan and North Korea run of the risk of just going snap ... then what is next?

No one can say.