Balance of Power: This North Korean Missile Launch Was Different
Why was North Korea’s ballistic missile launch different this time around?
(Bloomberg) -- Missile launches from North Korea have become almost routine, but the one fired this morning was a little different.
For starters it was lobbed right over Japan, between two islands to splash down off its eastern coast. North Korea has tested rockets over Japanese airspace before but only a handful of times, and today’s launch appeared to have been one of its more advanced intermediate ballistic missiles.
If Kim Jong Un intended to send Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a message, or the route was designed to test certain aspects of the flight, his actions elevate Japan’s role in the tensions. It could harden Abe’s stance, making it more difficult to get agreement on the need for talks with Pyongyang.
Markets viewed it as an escalation, with stocks falling in Japan and South Korea. The test follows a few weeks of relative calm, where U.S. officials had opened the door to dialogue after President Donald Trump’s earlier threats to unleash “fire and fury” on Kim.
Whether it brings a further blast from Trump remains to be seen, with no response from Washington so far. And whatever Trump eventually says, Kim has signaled again he’s not listening.
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--With assistance from Kathleen Hunter
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net.