SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- North Korea's missile launch Sunday, despite its failure, underscored the country's defiance against the U.S. and gave no hint that Pyongyang will cease its acts of provocation.

The ballistic missile test-firing by Pyongyang, the first since April 5, came amid increased pressure by the U.S. after President Donald Trump sent a strike group centering on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to the waters near North Korea. The strike group had reached the area by Friday, according to military information websites.

Washington apparently coupled the show of force with a message for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seeking to discourage him from escalating the tension, as U.S. news media reported that the Trump administration decided not to seek a regime change in Pyongyang. But the North proceeded with the test-firing Sunday as if to ignore the message from the U.S.

'Our own style' of attacks

North Korea had conducted a military parade Saturday in the capital to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country's founding father.

Adding to the display of military hardware, a high-ranking official of the Workers' Party of Korea warned that Pyongyang would respond immediately with force to any U.S. provocation. A full-scale assault will be met with a full-scale response, and any nuclear attack will bring retaliation by "our own style" of nuclear attacks, the official said, hinting at nuclear missile launches against U.S. military bases in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere.

The launch Sunday was conducted in the eastern city of Sinpo, as was the previous firing. Though the type of missile tested this time is unclear, conducting the launch from the coastal city instead of an inland location suggests the possibility of a new type of missile -- and that North Korea factored in the risk of a failure in selecting the launch site.

Test of nerves

Some experts think Kim Jong Un looks to assess how far he can push the U.S. without inviting military action, while at the same time developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the American mainland -- an advance largely seen as crossing a "red line" for the Trump administration. Speculation that the North planned a nuclear test Sunday turned out to be just a rumor.

If China cooperates with the U.S. in invoking sanctions against Pyongyang, North Korea's economy would sustain heavy damage, said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Department of Unification Strategy Studies at South Korea's Sejong Institute. For this reason, Kim Jong Un likely will continue firing midrange missiles, which Beijing does not see as a major problem, but refrain from carrying out nuclear and ICBM tests, Cheong said.

Tinderbox

Sunday's test-firing puts the ball in Washington's court. The U.S. forces, including the carrier strike group, are preparing to respond immediately to any unforeseen event. Because the missile launch failed, the American military showed little response. But U.S. news media have reported that the military is preparing a pre-emptive attack on North Korea with conventional weapons if the country moves toward another nuclear test.

Kim Jong Un so far has ignored U.S. warnings and military displays such as deployment of the strike group and the use of a massive conventional bomb in Afghanistan. The world awaits the Trump administration's response to Kim's defiance.