North Korea was sending a message of defiance to the Trump administration with its claimed launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile days after a summit meeting, according to an expert with the Wilson Center.
The regime undertook its latest test Monday following a meeting between President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in about blocking North Korea from developing long-range nuclear weapons.
“We should be worried: Every test gets the North Koreans closer to mastering the technology for mounting a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile powerful enough to strike the United States and its allies,” Jean Lee, a global fellow at the Washington think tank said in a released statement.
Trump and the South Korean president are trying to strike an agreement, along with China, on how to head off Kim Jong Un’s burgeoning missile program. If the North’s ICBM claims are true, the country tested a missile that could be capable of striking Alaska.
“Test-firing a ballistic missile just days after the Trump-Moon summit, where the two leaders discussed tightening sanctions against North Korea, is Pyongyang’s way of sending a message of defiance to the US and South Korean leaders,” Lee said.
The North is also moving strategically to develop its missile program as quickly as possible before the two countries can impose increased sanctions, she said.
