North Korea to South: There’s More Where That Came From

North Korea is giving no respite to South Korea’s new pro-engagement President. A week after firing off an intermediate range ballistic missile, Pyongyang did so again—and declared that it is ready to mass produce many more in the future. : 

The North fired the missile into waters off its east coast on Sunday, its second missile test in a week, which South Korea said dashed the hopes of the South’s new liberal government under President Moon Jae-in for peace between the neighbors.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of the Pukguksong-2, which confirmed reliable late-stage guidance of the warhead and the functioning of a solid-fuel engine, the KCNA state news agency said.

It quoted Kim as saying the Pukguksong-2 met all the required technical specifications so should now be mass-produced and deployed to the Korean People’s Army strategic battle unit.

Pyongyang’s hyperbolic claims should always be taken with a grain of salt, but the test does point to some troubling gains. North Korea’s missiles may not be able to reach Hawaii and Alaska, as it claims, but its acquisition of solid-fuel engines will allow it to deploy its mid-range missiles more quickly, making the detection of such launches much more difficult. As for Moon Jae-in, it sure looks like he will have no honeymoon period where Pyongyang eases up on its tests in exchange for dialogue—and that could mean his hopes for a new Sunshine Policy are already dead on arrival.