USA TODAY International Edition
North Korea promises more missile launches
Despite warnings, Kim Jong Un claims drills are ‘necessary’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brushed aside warnings from President Trump and vowed Wednesday to press ahead with more nuclear missiles tests in the Pacific.
Kim said “more ballistic missile rocket launching drills” are “necessary” to modernize his military’s strategic capabilities. He also said his country will continue to watch “U.S. demeanors” before it decides on future actions.
Kim’s comments come a day after North Korea launched a missile over Japan for the first time, prompting a rebuke from the Japanese government and a warning from Trump.
According to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim was present for his military’s provocative launch over Japan. He expressed “great satisfaction” with what he called a “meaningful prelude” to containing Guam.
Trump warned Tuesday that “all options are on the table” in response to North Korea’s latest missile launch, but a military one seems unlikely, security analysts said Tuesday.
“I think the administration sees that an attack would be so escalatory that we probably ought to avoid that,” said Bruce Bennett, an analyst at RAND Corp.
Kim, who has continuously defied world opinion in pursuit of his country’s nuclear weapons program, has managed to walk up to a red line without crossing it, analysts say.
He had threatened to fire four missiles toward Guam, a U.S. territory. Instead, he sent a single missile flying over Japan, a slightly less provocative act.
“This is just short of red line,” said Patrick Cronin, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security. It allows Kim to defy the United States without forcing Washington’s hand. “He’s seeking better leverage in what is essentially a negotiation.”
Trump did not reveal what options he is considering. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said before boarding a helicopter for a trip to tour areas of Texas ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.
Cronin said Trump’s more measured response Tuesday seems to reflect the discipline that his new chief of staff, retired Marine general John Kelly, has brought to the White House.
Washington does have some options, including additional sanctions or demonstrations of force, such as flying bombers near North Korean airspace. “We cannot let this stand,” Cronin said.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, described the test as an “unprecedented, grave threat.”
The South Korean government said in a statement that it “condemns in the strongest terms this provocation.” It said if the nuclear and missile provocations continue, it will respond strongly based on a “stalwart” alliance with the United States.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson how to respond, the foreign ministry said.
They agreed to “sternly” take action at the U.N. Security Council, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.