Kim Jong Un Threatens South Korea in Bid for Trump’s Attention

While Kim Jong Un said his latest missile tests were aimed at South Korean “military warmongers,” the North Korean leader had a clear message for U.S. President Donald Trump: Bend in nuclear talks or bigger provocations may follow.

Kim oversaw the “power demonstration fire” of a new-type of tactical guided weapon Thursday “to send a solemn warning” to his southern rivals, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch on the launch. The report came a day after the regime launched what South Korea said were two short-range ballistic missiles that executed maneuvers to avoid detection before plunging into the sea east of the divided peninsula.

Although the report criticized only Seoul -- and made no mention of the U.S. or Trump -- it referenced “moves to introduce the ultramodern offensive weapons” and “hold military exercises” as the reason for the provocation. South Korea has taken both actions at the urging of the U.S., and North Korea warned separately last week that the allies’ planned joint drills could jeopardize his willingness to resume talks the Trump administration.

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