North Korea Hints at Bigger Provocations as South Korea Elects New President

Just three hours after being declared the winner of South Korea’s presidential election, conservative former prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol was reminded of one of the peskiest foreign policy challenges he will face after taking office in May.

In a state media post early Thursday, North Korea offered the latest hint that it will soon launch a military spy satellite, a move that risks significantly raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

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U.S. officials have also sometimes offered more muted criticisms following North Korean missile launches, compared to their responses in the earlier period of Kim Jong’s rule.

“The Biden administration will be able to be more frank in its public comments (about North Korea) if deemed necessary because Yoon’s administration will want to call out North Korean violations and provocations as they are and respond in kind,” said Duyeon Kim, a Korea specialist at the Center for a New American Security.

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