South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Seoul’s missile test was prescheduled (Yonhap) and not a reaction to provocations from Pyongyang, while South Korean security officials voiced concern over the North Korean tests. So too did Japan, which said the North Korean tests violated UN Security Council resolutions (Nikkei). The tests came after the foreign ministers of China and South Korea met in Seoul. The officials discussed diplomatic relations with North Korea (Reuters), as well as steps to boost China and South Korea’s cultural ties.
Analysis
“Pyongyang is retreating further from engaging with other countries during a self-imposed coronavirus lockdown, and Seoul is seeking to reduce its military dependence on the United States,” the Washington Post’s Michelle Ye Hee Lee writes.
“Before long, a crisis is all but certain to drive home how much more difficult and dangerous the North Korean nuclear challenge has become. This realization requires a new approach: one that considers the lessons of Pyongyang’s successful quest, in defiance of broad international opposition and consistent U.S. efforts, to become a nuclear power—and one that recognizes how much more constrained U.S. options in North Korea have become,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’
