North Korea's announcement that it has carried out a “very important test” suggests that the country is preparing to do something to provoke the United States if Washington doesn’t back down and make concessions in deadlocked nuclear negotiations.
People watch a TV screen showing a file image of a ground test of North Korea's rocket engine during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. North Korea said Sunday it carried out a "very important test" at its long-range rocket launch site that it reportedly rebuilt after having partially dismantled it after entering denuclearization talks with the United States last year. The sign reads: "Very important test.
When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in last year, he promised to dismantle this facility, better known as the Tongchang-ri site outside North Korea, as part of steps toward disarmament. The latest test lends credence to widespread skepticism about Kim’s seriousness in his commitment to denuclearization that he repeated during meetings with Trump and Moon.
Analyst Kim Dae-young at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy in South Korea said the test is likely related to a space launch vehicle, not an ICBM. He said North Korea would not conduct a long-range missile launch or nuclear test unless it completely abandons talks with the U.S. But an ICBM launch would have a bigger impact and derail diplomacy with Washington because it would be regarded as a resumption of North Korea’s push to acquire an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the American homeland. Washington and its allies viewed past North Korean satellite launches as covers for testing long-range missile technology and led punishing U.N. sanctions on the country, but they were still seen as less provocative than ICBM launches.
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