North Korea’s Friday morning missile launch may have been an embarrassing flop but that did little to hide the deep sense of discomfort in the Obama team.
Having seen its tentative February efforts to engage Pyongyang go up in a short-lived bout of smoke, the administration found itself on the end of a Republican tongue-lashing. Presidential- hopeful Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of being “naive”, “incompetent” and guilty of “appeasing” North Korea.
Yet there are opportunities mixed in with this North Korean setback. The signature piece of Mr Obama’s foreign policy over the past 18 months has been his self-styled “pivot” – switching the emphasis to diplomatic and military initiatives aimed at reasserting American leadership in the region and pinning back China’s ambitions. North Korea has just given him a new opening.