Still, the North's actions are making Seoul and Washington nervous. There is also concern over the North Korean military's shift to extreme conservatism, after its loss in the naval shootout with South Korea last month. South Korea, Japan and the U.S. have agreed to halt aid to North Korea in case of another missile launch. But it's still unclear if the U.S. takes North Korea's missile launch as a real threat.
Japan apparently has the firmest opposition to North Korea's missile deployment.
It is using its foreign clout to stop another launch, from threatening to cut off its funding of KEDO, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization to imposing trade sanctions on North Korea. Japan's Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi also has visited China and Mongolia to gather support for Japan's opposition to North Korea's missile testing. Both nations have partly agreed with Japan's position. Until last March, China had been ignoring Japan and U.S. requests for help in pressuring North Korea to stop its missile deployment. But China's position has changed, and it is now putting pressure on North Korea to stop.