VOA常速英语:美国分析师：朝鲜发射导弹是为了试探美国

For a year, US President Donald Trump has insisted his nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are progressing. His proof: No North Korean nuclear or missile tests. The speed is not that important to me. I’m very much appreciated no testing and I’m no rush. We don’t want the testing and we’ve developed something very special with respect. Trump can’t say that anymore. Last week North Korea launched its first ballistic missile in a year and a half. The short-range missile launch is Kim’s latest attempt to increase pressure on Trump, says Korean analyst Scott Snyder.

I do think the North Koreans are testing the US response. They’re trying to find out where the ceiling is in terms of US tolerance for provocations. Days after the launch, the White House response has still been muted. Trump hasn’t even criticized the test. Other US officials point out the missile was not capable of hitting the US Navy. But by trying to salvage the nuclear talks, the US could actually be ensuring that North Korean tests more missiles. The North Koreans may decide that they haven’t hit the ceiling, and therefore there’s a possibility that they will do more tests in order to try to define exactly how far they can go before the United States responds in a more dramatic fashion.
It’s the natural outcome of Trump defining the success of the talks in terms of no more North Korean tests, says Latrobe University’s Benjamin Habib. So he’s really trapped in how he responds to this current escalation by the era he made there in not taking a more incremental approach. Clearly, any kind of test is going to, after that, is going to damage Trump, and it’s gonna make him harder for him to come back and negotiate again.
South Korea has also responded cautiously, fearful of ruining talks, the President Moon Jae-in has made a centerpiece of his administration. Here in South Korea, many officials are reluctant to even utter the word missile. Instead, they prefer now to say that North Korea tested projectiles. That is partly explained by the fact that South Korea could be most impacted if Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un begin once again exchanging threats of nuclear war. Bill Gallio, VOA News, Seoul.