| And senseless, and clueless ... |
| "Look at meeeeeee!" Attention is its own reward. |
But the missile launch appeared "aimless and without a clear message," compared with previous provocations, a South Korean security official speculated. If it was trying to attract U.S. attention on American Independence Day, the North would have fired a long-range missile that could reach the U.S. mainland, but the only missiles fired were short- and medium-range.
North Korea in the past frequently achieved results by conducting a nuclear or missile test at a politically or diplomatically opportune time. But this year the tests apparently have nothing to do with the outside situation and carry no clear message, experts say. There is speculation that the North's constant grandstanding has caused a kind of "provocation fatigue" abroad, which led to a more tightly-knit net of sanctions and pressure on the North.