The Donald Trump administration’s operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro appears to have had a real impact on North Korea. Pyongyang said it would continue to “sophisticate” its weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to make them more lethal and destructive, calling such actions a deterrence against enemies. The North’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Monday that the country successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile the previous day. According to the report, the missile struck a target in the East Sea about 1,000 kilometers northeast of Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally observed the test launch of the missile, designated as Hwasong-11E. Kim said that one way to ensure deterrence is to repeatedly remind enemies that North Korea’s strategic assets are ready for use anytime and anywhere, and that they are powerful and lethal enough to destroy their adversaries. “The ongoing geopolitical crisis and developments in international affairs clearly show why we need such a strong level of deterrence,” Kim was quoted as sayi