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With Latest Launches, North Korea Perfecting 'Scary Impressive' Missile

William Gallo

   SEOUL - With its latest test Wednesday, North Korea has now launched
   seven ballistic missiles over the past three months, after having
   refrained from such launches for a year and a half.

   By firing missiles into the ocean, North Korea is expressing its anger
   at upcoming U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and presumably
   trying to increase its leverage over the two allies amid stalled
   nuclear talks.

   But the missile tests have more than symbolic importance. North Korea
   appears to be perfecting a new short-range missile that represents a
   unique threat to U.S. interests in the region.

   Though the latest launch is still being analyzed, South Korean
   officials say the North appears to have tested some version of the same
   weapon each time: a modified version of a Russian-developed Iskander
   missile.

   The North's missile, dubbed KN-23 by U.S. and South Korean intelligence
   officials, is easy to hide, can be quickly deployed, and is difficult
   for U.S. and South Korean missile defenses to intercept, according to
   analysts.

   "It is not appropriate to shrug off these tests as short range." says
   Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
   "These missiles represent technological developments that threaten U.S.
   allies and forces in Asia."

   Though he has not commented on the latest launch, U.S. President Donald
   Trump has downplayed the importance of the prior tests, saying the
   missiles are not long-range and cannot reach the United States.

   Trump's laid-back response, which has been echoed by South Korea's
   government, is an apparent attempt to preserve the possibility of talks
   with North Korea that have been stalled for months.

   But by refusing to heavily criticize the launches, Washington and Seoul
   risk encouraging more tests of North Korean missiles that represent a
   major threat to South Korea, which hosts nearly 30,000 U.S. troops.

   "Trump unfortunately dismisses short-range ballistic missiles, so it
   enables Pyongyang to continue to develop its weapons," says Duyeon Kim,
   an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security
   (CNAS).

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