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North Korea fired what it described as an intermediate-range strategic missile Oct. 3, and an expert warned that such a missile could put Guam and parts of Alaska within range, raising the stakes for the U.S. and its allies as President Donald Trump seeks to revive diplomacy with Kim Jong Un.
Kim personally oversaw the drill, North Korean state media claimed, while former U.S. Forces Korea analyst Sydney Seiler told Fox News Digital that its range means the latest test has implications extending far beyond the Korean Peninsula.
According to Reuters, citing North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, the missile was described as part of a “hypersonic strategic weapon system” and traveled about 1,000 kilometers, or 621 miles, away in waters off the country’s east coast.
Guam holds strategic military importance as a U.S. territory in the western Pacific and hosts major military installations, including Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam.
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North Korea conducts an intermediate-range strategic missile drill. (North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS)
“What is interesting about an IRBM launch — an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flies around 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers — is that it brings Guam, parts of Alaska, and Japan into range of North Korea,” Seiler, a former National Intelligence Council officer focused on North Korea, said while cautioning against fully viewing the launch as a direct response to Trump.
“But when you consider the preparation required for an intermediate-range ballistic missile system, it is unlikely this was primarily a response to the president’s comments or actions over the past few days,” Seiler said.
Hours after the Oct. 3 missile launch, Trump had touted his relationship with Kim during a rally in Vandalia, Ohio.
“I get along great with Kim Jong Un. Isn’t it nice to get along with the leaders of massive nuclear nations?” Trump said.
He also added: “When someone has 112 nuclear missiles, it is better to get along with them,” pointing to North Korea’s nuclear capabilities as a reason for maintaining open diplomatic communication.
“North Korea simply isn’t interested in talking right now, so they have no incentive not to launch,” Seiler said of the recent missile test and Trump’s latest remarks.
“The fact that they’re doing these missile launches amid a diplomatic effort by President Trump to try to re-engage the North, you have to see them only as somewhat related.”
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North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un poses with President Donald Trump at the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
The test also followed North Korea’s launch of two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on Sept. 20, according to reports.
Officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan said Oct. 3 that North Korea’s ballistic missile tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and threaten regional and international security.
Seiler, now a nonresident senior adviser with the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Pyongyang’s posture extends beyond its relationship with the Trump administration.
The latest launch comes “within the larger context of a current absolute stand down on dialogue with South Korea and repeated rejections of overtures from the United States for dialogue,” Seiler said.
“But North Korea has refrained from some more aggressive actions during the president’s term of office; we haven’t seen an ICBM launch for almost two years now.”
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Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the missile test event toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, according to North Korean state media. (North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS)
Seiler warned that restraint should not, however, be mistaken for a willingness to abandon Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
“For North Korea, their overall diplomatic strategy is to condition the world to accept them for who they are: a non-denuclearizing, missile-launching, occasionally provoking, and rhetorically coercive state,” Seiler said.
“As time goes on, their goal is for us to give up any hope of denuclearization or structural change, which is consistent with them establishing a baseline: whether diplomacy unfolds or not, they will continue to develop and demonstrate missile technology.”
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to emphasize his relationship with Kim while signaling a wish to revive the personal diplomacy of his first term.
Trump and Kim held summits in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019 before meeting at Panmunjom in the Korean Demilitarized Zone later that year, when Trump crossed into North Korea.
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A handout photo provided by Dong-A Ilbo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the south side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the South and North Korea on June 30, 2019, in Panmunjom, South Korea. (Dong-A Ilbo via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“The president has shown persistent commitment to engaging North Korea in dialogue — most recently suggesting he is open to a phone call,” Seiler said.
“While a call might not yield immediate progress on denuclearization, it contributes to tension reduction and helps establish a direct relationship necessary for future crisis management on the peninsula.”
Complicating Washington’s strategy, the expert said, is Kim’s alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
North Korea has provided troops and military equipment to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, reducing Kim’s incentive to engage with the U.S., according to Seiler.
“Right now, Kim Jong Un, particularly given his emerging relationship with Vladimir Putin and everything he’s getting out of the relationship with Russia right now, simply doesn’t need to talk to the United States,” Seiler said.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s unusual relationship with Kim also perhaps offers Trump another potential connection to the North Korean leader. Rodman has also made multiple trips to North Korea and met personally with Kim.
Rodman joined Trump at a Peterbilt plant in Denton, Texas, on Oct. 1 before traveling with the president toward a rally in Durant, Oklahoma.
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Dennis Rodman apparently sees big things on the horizon for President Trump as far as North Korea is concerned. (AP/Getty)
Asked in Texas whether he was using Rodman, who has personally met Kim, to help broker peace with Pyongyang, Trump emphasized his own relationship with the North Korean leader.
“As long as I’m here, you’re not gonna have any problems. Somebody else comes, you’re gonna have some big problems,” Trump said.
Trump also highlighted Rodman’s personal connection to Kim, saying: “When I wanted to get to know Kim Jong Un when we were having a problem—Kim Jong Un and I get along—but the one who knew him best was Dennis Rodman.”
“Dennis Rodman has a very interesting perspective in that he was able to interact with Kim Jong Un over a number of visits and get to know him personally, to develop some rapport without any diplomatic baggage,” Seiler said.
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“He may be offering President Trump insights into Kim Jong Un’s personality, values, and potential approaches, but, you know, as I think Dennis Rodman’s representatives have said, he is still a long way off from getting airplane tickets.”