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| New North Korean Missile Comes With Angry Message to South Korea’s President | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — When North Korea said on Friday that it had tested a new, more advanced missile, it pointed the finger of blame at one man: Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, who just last year embraced Kim Jong-un at their countries’ border. | SEOUL, South Korea — When North Korea said on Friday that it had tested a new, more advanced missile, it pointed the finger of blame at one man: Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, who just last year embraced Kim Jong-un at their countries’ border. |
| The North said Mr. Kim, its leader, had personally arranged the missile test on Thursday to counter what it called Mr. Moon’s “double-dealing”: talking peace with North Korea even as he bought state-of-the-art F-35 stealth jets and planned joint military drills with the United States. | The North said Mr. Kim, its leader, had personally arranged the missile test on Thursday to counter what it called Mr. Moon’s “double-dealing”: talking peace with North Korea even as he bought state-of-the-art F-35 stealth jets and planned joint military drills with the United States. |
| Some analysts said Mr. Kim, in singling out Mr. Moon, was venting anger over his failure to win relief from crippling economic sanctions over his nuclear program, with talks between his government and the United States having stalled. On the day the North made its announcement, bad economic news arrived: South Korea’s central bank said the North’s economy had shrunk by 4.1 percent last year, its worst contraction since 1997. | Some analysts said Mr. Kim, in singling out Mr. Moon, was venting anger over his failure to win relief from crippling economic sanctions over his nuclear program, with talks between his government and the United States having stalled. On the day the North made its announcement, bad economic news arrived: South Korea’s central bank said the North’s economy had shrunk by 4.1 percent last year, its worst contraction since 1997. |
| “Kim Jong-un is clearly frustrated,” said Ko Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, the South’s capital. “He had hoped that President Moon would be able to help persuade Washington to ease sanctions. He now seems to have concluded that South Korea is really at Washington’s beck and call.” | “Kim Jong-un is clearly frustrated,” said Ko Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, the South’s capital. “He had hoped that President Moon would be able to help persuade Washington to ease sanctions. He now seems to have concluded that South Korea is really at Washington’s beck and call.” |
| North Korea has been hit hard by a series of United Nations sanctions imposed since 2016, aimed at blocking all its key exports — like coal, textiles and fisheries — and drastically reducing its oil imports as well. Its economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2017, according to the South’s central bank. | North Korea has been hit hard by a series of United Nations sanctions imposed since 2016, aimed at blocking all its key exports — like coal, textiles and fisheries — and drastically reducing its oil imports as well. Its economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2017, according to the South’s central bank. |
| The bank’s statement on Friday also said that North Korea’s external trade declined 48.8 percent last year, with its exports plummeting by as much as 86.3 percent. Unsurprisingly, it attributed the North’s woes to the international sanctions. | The bank’s statement on Friday also said that North Korea’s external trade declined 48.8 percent last year, with its exports plummeting by as much as 86.3 percent. Unsurprisingly, it attributed the North’s woes to the international sanctions. |
| Mr. Kim’s diplomatic outreach early last year to South Korea and the United States, after years of missile and nuclear tests and bombastic threats, was widely seen as driven by an urgent need to end the sanctions. But three meetings with President Trump and several with Mr. Moon have failed to win Mr. Kim the economic relief he has promised his people. | Mr. Kim’s diplomatic outreach early last year to South Korea and the United States, after years of missile and nuclear tests and bombastic threats, was widely seen as driven by an urgent need to end the sanctions. But three meetings with President Trump and several with Mr. Moon have failed to win Mr. Kim the economic relief he has promised his people. |
| Since then, his indignation has been mostly directed toward South Korea and Mr. Moon, with some kept for Mr. Trump’s more hawkish aides, especially the national security adviser, John R. Bolton. | |
| Mr. Kim has demanded that the South implement the ambitious inter-Korean economic projects that he and Mr. Moon agreed to pursue in meetings last year. But Mr. Moon has agreed with the Trump administration’s position that such projects must wait until sanctions are eased as part of a nuclear disarmament deal. | |
| Mr. Moon was already facing serious foreign-policy problems when the North launched its latest projectile, which the South said was a new type of short-range ballistic missile, potentially harder to track and intercept. | |
| South Korea’s relations with Japan are at their lowest point in decades, in part over Japanese export restrictions on chemicals needed to produce some of the South’s most lucrative exports. On Tuesday, a Russian-Chinese air patrol through nearby waters resulted in South Korean jets firing hundreds of warning shots to drive off a Russian plane, an unprecedented event. | South Korea’s relations with Japan are at their lowest point in decades, in part over Japanese export restrictions on chemicals needed to produce some of the South’s most lucrative exports. On Tuesday, a Russian-Chinese air patrol through nearby waters resulted in South Korean jets firing hundreds of warning shots to drive off a Russian plane, an unprecedented event. |
| But the North’s latest missile test has done more than anything to highlight Mr. Moon’s quickly shrinking reputation as a regional peacemaker. | But the North’s latest missile test has done more than anything to highlight Mr. Moon’s quickly shrinking reputation as a regional peacemaker. |
| Mr. Moon won global accolades last year for brokering the first summit meeting between the United States and the North, tirelessly preaching that Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump could end the decades-old crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. | Mr. Moon won global accolades last year for brokering the first summit meeting between the United States and the North, tirelessly preaching that Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump could end the decades-old crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. |
| At that June 2018 meeting in Singapore, Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump produced a vaguely worded agreement in which the North Korean leader promised to work toward denuclearization in return for “new” relations with Washington. But when the two met again in February in Hanoi, Vietnam, they parted with no agreement on how to implement the Singapore deal. | At that June 2018 meeting in Singapore, Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump produced a vaguely worded agreement in which the North Korean leader promised to work toward denuclearization in return for “new” relations with Washington. But when the two met again in February in Hanoi, Vietnam, they parted with no agreement on how to implement the Singapore deal. |
| Since then, the North has rained scorn on Mr. Moon. In April, Mr. Kim called his counterpart’s efforts to mediate dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington “officious.” Last month, a mid-ranking North Korean official said dismissively that the South Koreans should “mind their own internal business.” | Since then, the North has rained scorn on Mr. Moon. In April, Mr. Kim called his counterpart’s efforts to mediate dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington “officious.” Last month, a mid-ranking North Korean official said dismissively that the South Koreans should “mind their own internal business.” |
| The Hanoi talks broke down after Mr. Kim demanded that the most biting sanctions be dropped, in return for the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang. Washington says the sanctions must stay in place until North Korea agrees to a more comprehensive breakup of its nuclear facilities and arsenal. | The Hanoi talks broke down after Mr. Kim demanded that the most biting sanctions be dropped, in return for the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang. Washington says the sanctions must stay in place until North Korea agrees to a more comprehensive breakup of its nuclear facilities and arsenal. |
| “North Korea is putting the pressure on the South to do more” to persuade Washington to be flexible, said Woo Jung-yeop, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute in South Korea. | “North Korea is putting the pressure on the South to do more” to persuade Washington to be flexible, said Woo Jung-yeop, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute in South Korea. |
| When Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump met briefly on the inter-Korean border on June 30, they agreed to resume staff-level dialogue. But North Korea has since demanded that the United States and South Korea first cancel joint military drills slated for next month. | When Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump met briefly on the inter-Korean border on June 30, they agreed to resume staff-level dialogue. But North Korea has since demanded that the United States and South Korea first cancel joint military drills slated for next month. |
| The military exercises are problematic for Mr. Kim because he has been promising his people a new, less hostile relationship with the United States, said John Park, director of the Korea Project at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “U.S.-South Korea military exercises would undermine that carefully crafted image,” Mr. Park said. | The military exercises are problematic for Mr. Kim because he has been promising his people a new, less hostile relationship with the United States, said John Park, director of the Korea Project at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. “U.S.-South Korea military exercises would undermine that carefully crafted image,” Mr. Park said. |
| The North’s statement criticizing Mr. Moon on Thursday included no attacks on Mr. Trump, presumably because Mr. Kim hopes to maintain the good will of the American president, who has famously said that he and Mr. Kim fell “in love.” | The North’s statement criticizing Mr. Moon on Thursday included no attacks on Mr. Trump, presumably because Mr. Kim hopes to maintain the good will of the American president, who has famously said that he and Mr. Kim fell “in love.” |
| Speaking to reporters in Baghdad on Friday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, said that North Korea’s missile tests on Thursday were “not characterized as a threat” to American forces on the peninsula. He added that he was not aware of the motivations behind them. | |
| Mr. Trump seemed unfazed by the North’s latest missile test, telling Fox News on Thursday that he was still getting along “very well” with Mr. Kim. | Mr. Trump seemed unfazed by the North’s latest missile test, telling Fox News on Thursday that he was still getting along “very well” with Mr. Kim. |
| ”They haven’t done nuclear testing,” Mr. Trump said. “They really haven’t tested missiles other than, you know, smaller ones.” | ”They haven’t done nuclear testing,” Mr. Trump said. “They really haven’t tested missiles other than, you know, smaller ones.” |