North Korea Missile Test Could Derail New South Korean President's Peace Effort

North Korean President Kim Jong Un reportedly said Monday the ballistic missile testing over the weekend was part of his country’s efforts to expand their nuclear weapons program.

Kim did not seem concerned his military strategy possibly damaging the chances of mending diplomatic relations with the southern half of the Korean peninsula, something Moon Jae-in, the new President of South Korea, hinted towards immediately after getting elected.

Despite the fact Pyongyang has threatened to reduce Seoul to a "sea of fire" for decades, Moon expressed his desire to revive the “sunshine policy,” that had the potential to reestablish lost dialogue between the two Koreas. Moon even openly opposed President Donald Trump, who has talked about deploying missiles against North Korea if Kim did not abandon his nuclear mission, the Atlantic reported.

North Korea’s lack of change in nuclear policy however, has concerned Moon, who had maintained he will be willing to visit his neighboring country and meet with Kim if the conditions were right.

Read: US, Japan And South Korea Working To Tackle Pyongyang Nuclear Threat

"The president expressed deep regret over the fact that this reckless provocation ... occurred just days after a new government was launched in South Korea," senior presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan said, Chicago Tribune reported. "The president said we are leaving open the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, but we should sternly deal with a provocation to prevent North Korea from miscalculating."

Kim, on the other hand, boasted how the U.S. will never be able to get their hands on the “most perfect weapon systems in the world.” The latest example of the same was the "new ground-to-ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket" called "Hwasong-12" tested over the weekend and reportedly "capable of carrying a large, heavy nuclear warhead."

The latest addition to the Pyongyang's arsenal is one step closer towards North Korea’s nuclear propaganda, according to some experts in Tokyo. The missile flew for about half an hour, at a greater elevation than missiles usually do, and landed in the Sea of Japan, reports said.

Read: US Orders Aircraft Carrier Closer To Korean Peninsula

Even though North Korea is far from its ultimate target of creating small-sized nuclear warheads, capable of carrying longer-range missiles, some believe it has already achieved its goal of building shorter-range missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads.

The U.N. Security Council will be holding private consultations regarding North Korea’s recent missile testing Tuesday afternoon. There also remains a possibility the U.S. and its biggest ally against North Korea, China, may get together to decide on further sanctions on North Korea, in addition to the ones already laid in place. Oil imports could potentially be one of the sanctions which are approved against the country.

Despite threats and serious repercussions to his country’s economy, Kim remains on a mission to provoke the United States, even threatening to target “its mainland and Pacific operation region” with the latest nuclear missiles in his arsenal, the New York Times reported.