US President Donald Trump on North Korea's Third Failed Missile Test
U.S. President Donald Trump appears undecided when asked whether or not a nuclear test by North Korea would mean a military response by the United States. According to him, China has only been subtly coercing North Korea as it pursues its nuclear weapons and missiles programs, but he believes that if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, neither China nor the U.S. would be happy.
During the interview, Trump refused to discuss in detail the possible options of the U.S. military, saying that he was not supposed to disclose all their moves. "It is a chess game. I just don't want people to know what my thinking is," he said.
Calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un "a pretty smart cookie," the U.S. president said he had no idea whether Jong-Un was sane, but he admires the leader for being able to deal with tough people and assume power at a very young age.
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On April 29, North Korea launched a mid-range ballistic missile but it disintegrated a few minutes into its flight. The third failed test sent a clear message of defiance to the United Nations, which banned North Korean ballistic missile tests because it could strike the U.S. mainland.
The assessments of South Korea and Japan about the recent failed launch indicate that North Korea discharged the missile at an angle that would prevent it from flying too far. South Korean analyst and former military official Moon Seong Mook said, however, that North Korea gains valuable knowledge about missiles despite its failed launches.
"They could be testing a variety of things, such as the thrust of the rocket engine or the separation of stages. A failure is a failure, but that doesn't mean the launch was meaningless," he said.
Saturday's missile came from the west, near Pukchang and north of Pyongyang. The two previous launches were launched from an eastern coastal area.
