On Sunday North Korea launched an intermediate range ballistic missile, capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam. It is the seventh launch North Korea has made in January alone.

This follows a long North Korean history of ignoring weapons agreements in its drive to develop its nuclear weaponry.

It is also a typical step in the North Korean form of diplomacy. North Korea has a habit of rattling its sabers, either by missile launches, or provocative military exercises. It then uses those provocations as bargaining chips when it seeks some kind of concession from the West. It could be to ease the American-led economic sanctions that hit its impoverished people more than it affects their leadership, or some promise to stop our own military exercises in the area.

North Korea will promise to stop its launches in exchange for whatever concession the U.S. is willing to give, and afterwards it will ignore its promises and carry on doing whatever it wants to do.

The U.S. should ignore any demands that North Korea makes and stick it with more sanctions. We should deal from strength, and we certainly are stronger than North Korea. We should remind them of that.