How is a Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan, or, for that matter, a forwardly deployed U.S. military, to know exactly what’s on a North Korean long-range missile? At best, the launch will set a precedent that North Korea can shoot off missiles of undisclosed payloads when and where it likes, without disclosing what’s on them; at worst, there may be something on them that won’t be known until it is almost to late to stop. This development seems far scarier than anything North Korea has done recently and yet has received little attention. It is hard to envision a Japan allowing the missile either to near its homeland or to travel through its airspace.