North Korea tests new missile _ and Trump's resolve

FILE - This Saturday, May 4, 2019, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows a test of weapon systems, in North Korea. North Korea’s test of what appears to be new short-range ballistic missile may not have been a direct threat to the United States, but experts warn it’s almost certainly an omen of bigger problems on the horizon. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - This Saturday, May 4, 2019, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, equipped with binoculars, observing tests of different weapons systems, in North Korea. North Korea’s test of what appears to be new short-range ballistic missile may not have been a direct threat to the United States, but experts warn it’s almost certainly an omen of bigger problems on the horizon. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea appears to have tested a new short-range missile — and President Donald Trump's resolve to keep it from doing more of the same.

The test early Saturday was quickly played down by Trump and his top advisers, who noted it was not the kind of long-range missile leader Kim Jong Un has refrained from launching since 2017.

But the sudden activity on the North's east coast, complete with fiery photos of a purported bull's eye out to sea, alarmed Washington's regional allies and suggests that Kim's missiles are improving even as the Trump administration wrestles with how to get him back to the negotiating table.