Bruce Klingner
North Korea fired a shot across the stern of the outgoing Biden administration by launching a missile during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea. Blinken was in Seoul to affirm U.S. support for its ally despite ongoing political turmoil wrought by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last month and subsequent impeachment.
The missile launch also serves as a signal to the incoming Trump administration that the regime’s growing nuclear and missile capabilities would exact a higher price in any future negotiations.
On January 6, North Korea launched a missile that flew 1,100 kilometers (690 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan. The type of missile remains unclear, but it could be the Hwasong-16, a solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) which has both a conical hypersonic maneuverable warhead and wing-shaped hypersonic glide maneuverable warhead variants. Both missile versions were first tested last year and can evade missile defenses.
The Potential for Russia to Supercharge North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Program
While the missile launch could have been conducted for additional developmental testing of a new missile, any provocation—particularly during a high-level visit—is habitually interpreted as a signal whose meaning is hotly debated by Korea watchers. Strong North Korean action could be a dismissal of rampant speculation of a resumption of U.S.-North Korean engagement during a second President Donald Trump term.
Donald Trump and North Korea: What Happens Next?
Despite Trump’s touting his strong relationship with Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang declared last August that it was not interested in dialogue with Washington regardless of the presidential election result. The regime declared that both candidates reflected Washington’s “unchanging aggressive and hostile policy.” The last bilateral U.S.-North Korean diplomatic meeting was in October 2019.
Kim has been emboldened by stronger ties with Russia including a mutual defense signed last year in a summit with President Vladimir Putin. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/north-koreas-russia-alliance-and-missiles-are-big-problem-trump-and