That would end a moratorium that was a key achievement of the Clinton administration. But we cannot do so indefinitely.
Threats are a standard negotiating tactic for the Stalinist country.
But this is the first response by North Korea to the new administration and it carries an ominous warning. North Korea's August 1998 test launch of a long-range rocket that passed over Japan had wide repercussions. It alarmed Japan, accelerated U.S. consideration of a missile defense system and prompted an overhaul of U.S. policy toward Pyongyang. The Clinton administration stepped up negotiations with North Korea, winning a promise in September 1999 that it would suspend its missile testing. That added to a pledge it made in 1994 to halt its nuclear program in return for aid.