Global Geopolitical Series: North Korea’s latest missile launch warning to ‘warmongers in South Korea’

For the first time in 2019, North Korea test-fired two guided short-range ballistic missiles earlier this week, pouring cold water on U.S. President Donald Trump’s hailing of no missile testing by North Korea. Last month, President Trump made history, when he became the first U.S. President to cross the demarcation line during his visit to North Korea. The two had meetings during the visit, where South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined in.

Washington has called for Pyongyang to put a halt to further provocative actions while Seoul claimed the tests posed a military threat. North Korea’s state-owned news agency, KCNA, described the missile tests were warnings to warmongers in South Korea. The statement makes no mention of the United States.

Still, the tests might be have been a message aimed not just at South Korea but the United States too and perhaps to President Trump; so that he turns his focus back to the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea continues to suffer under economic pressure from the United States via UN sanctions.