Kim Jong Un's scientists are still testing only low-yield nuclear weapons, the thinking goes, and have yet to place them on ballistic missiles capable of reaching America's West Coast.
Pyongyang is trying to develop missiles capable of reaching the USA mainland and the Washington Post reports that the pace of testing has been relentless: There were three missile launches in May, making it 16 for the year, meaning Kim Jong Un has now ordered nearly as many launches in 2017 alone as father Kim Jong Il ordered during his 17 years as the country's supreme leader.
It marked the fifth missile test-fire by the North since liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office May 10.
The move was immediately condemned by South Korea's president, who warned North Korea that the only thing the country has to gain from unauthorized launches is "isolation and economic difficulties".
The EU said it would freeze the assets of 14 more people and ban their travel to Europe in line with a UN Security Council resolution last week for more sanctions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests.
The Global Times, published by China's official People's Daily, said in an editorial that no matter the outcome of the environmental study, South Korea's announcement could reduce friction.
Pyongyang on Monday rejected attempts by South Korean civic groups to resume exchanges and instead blasted the South's support for the latest United Nations sanctions over the North's missile tests.
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The provocations are expected to dampen Moon's dual-track approach of denuclearizing North Korea while seeking inter-Korean dialogue. On Wednesday, his presidential office said installation of four additional launchers would be halted until an assessment of the system's impact on the environment was completed.
Moon had also promised to review the deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea, a decision that was made by the government of his conservative predecessor, Park Geun-hye.
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington were analyzing the launches for further information, officials said. It's the latest in a series of missile tests in defiance of worldwide pressure to halt its weapons programme.
The test-firing by pyongyang came as the USA military dispatched nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to waters off the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday the resumption of talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is made more hard by Pyongyang's increasingly frequent missile tests.
While its technological shortcomings have been well documented, North Korea's desire to provoke a nuclear conflict with.
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