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Missile tests add pressure on Trump over North Korea

South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

By Associated Press 12 min read

President Trump’s first 100 days

WASHINGTON – North Korea’s latest volley of missile tests put new pressure on a preoccupied Trump administration Monday to identify how it will counter leader Kim Jong Un’s weapons development.

North Korea’s march toward having a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the U.S. mainland is among the pressing national security priorities President Donald Trump faces. He has vowed it “won’t happen” but has yet to articulate a strategy to stop it.

Trump spoke Monday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn. The White House said the three leaders agreed “to continue close bilateral and trilateral cooperation to demonstrate to North Korea that there are very dire consequences for its provocative and threatening actions.”

A wide array of options are on the table, but aggressive behavior by Pyongyang in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that began last week could further shrink chances for diplomatic engagement.

Upheaval in the administration has added to uncertainty in foreign capitals about how Trump’s “America First” mantra will translate into foreign policy, and how a new president with no prior experience in government might handle a security crisis.