Nature abhors a vacuum; so too does North Korea.
It was always predictable then that Pyongyang would try to refocus international attention on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and push Washington back to the negotiating table. There is little indication, however, that the United States will oblige and be moved to re-engage.
While the Biden administration insists that it is ready to talk “any time, any place,” North Korea must show its own willingness to discuss eventual denuclearization. For Pyongyang, that is a nonstarter. Expect then more provocations and the continuing improvement of the North’s military, and its nuclear arsenal in particular.