CNN: Does North Korea Care How US Responds To Its Missile Test

United State response to the latest missile test by North Korea is a departure from previous statements made by the government which doesn’t make much of a difference to the North Korean weapons program, as believed by experts. The test in which a missile was sent into the sea off North Korea's east coast, occurred ahead of a meeting between the US and Chinese government this week and has been described by some analyst as an insult from NK to POTUS Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping of China.

Secretary Tillerson: The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment. https://t.co/ccVPjWTWdX — Department of State (@StateDept) April 5, 2017

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US Secretary Tillerson reticent remarks were heavily criticized online, some analysts said it was difficult to gauge if his approach would make much of a difference compared to his predecessors'. Director of La Trobe Asia, Nick Bisley, called it a mistake to assume North Korea is like "a spoiled child". He said the country has specific goals and ambitions, and they seek for Nuclear power.

"Issuing responses to such displays may be a loser's game no matter the intent, said Graham. "The likelihood is there are going to be tons of tests this year, so do you continue to put out pro forma statements for each one?" Trump administration has vowed to enhace progress on North Korea, and said it is willing to do it alone even without China. Bisley said that while Trump has talked about being different on North Korea, Tillerson's statement is the first public sign that there might actually be some departure. "But it's very hard to see how you break with Obama and Bush policy on North Korea without making things a lot more dangerous," he added. What has changed is that there is now a great deal of confusion and speculation over tactics on both sides of the divide. Graham, meanwhile, said North Korea and the US are mirroring each other's behavior at the moment. "You have (Pyongyang) saying 'deal with it,' and another 'deal with it' in response." Bisley said this tactic, if deliberate, compliments the broader idea Trump has about being unpredictable about foreign policy."If your opponents don't know what you'll do or where your limits are, then you're at a big advantage," he said. This is usually something that has worked to Pyongyang's advantage; it remains to be seen how the North Koreans will react to a dose of their own medicine.