SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- North Korea's missile launch Friday represents the latest salvo in an escalating standoff with the U.S., with the impulsive leaders on both sides keeping the endgame far from clear.

Though the rocket flew over Japan, its message was aimed squarely at America.

"The U.S. fate is in the hands of the DPRK," the ruling party's Rodong Sinmun newspaper asserted that day, using an abbreviation for the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The paper blasted fresh sanctions approved Monday by the United Nations Security Council, and hinted that further provocations are on the way.

"Whatever means and methods the U.S. may employ, they will never work on the DPRK," it declared.

Bad blood

North Korea's anti-American stance dates back to the start of the Korean War in 1950. Pyongyang is convinced that nuclear and missile capabilities that threatened the U.S. would have prevented American military intervention, a belief maintained across three generations of the Kim dynasty.

The country has learned what it calls a "bloody lesson" from Washington's toppling of dictators this century. Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq and Moammar Gadhafi's in Libya "could not escape the fate of destruction after being deprived of their foundations for nuclear development and giving up nuclear programs of their own accord, yielding to the pressure of the U.S. and the West keen on their regime changes," the North's Korean Central News Agency wrote last year.

Washington, for its part, has little faith in Pyongyang.

The first North-related nuclear crisis, in 1994, led to an agreement under which North Korea would halt atomic weapons development in exchange for economic assistance from the U.S. Later, the six-party talks of the 2000s produced a joint statement in which Pyongyang pledged to scrap its nuclear program in return for Washington's assurance that it would not attack or invade the country. Yet North Korea eventually reneged on both deals.

A relationship of mutual distrust extending back more than half a century has deteriorated further under U.S. President Donald Trump, a 71-year-old real estate tycoon with no political experience, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who is in his early 30s.

Backs to the wall

Kim cannot back down in part because his objectives for weapons development are not purely military. With economic inequality worsening and young people growing disillusioned with the government, the youthful leader has used "scientific development" to underpin his authority. Rocket imagery is ubiquitous throughout Pyongyang.

A country's stability depends largely on its economy, and North Korea is no exception. Freeing itself from the sanctions imposed by the international community, with the help of a formal peace treaty with the U.S., is crucial for Pyongyang. Friday's missile launch is part of an effort -- also including a threat to create an "enveloping fire" around the American territory of Guam -- to force Washington to the negotiating table under better terms for the North.

Yet far from engaging Kim, Trump has even taunted him, questioning whether the North Korean leader has "anything better to do with his life" after a July missile launch. The U.S. has pushed for restrictions on oil exports to the North, targeting a vital economic lifeline for the country.

For North Korea, which remains on a war footing decades after the armistice that ended the Korean War, a confrontational stance against the U.S. serves to justify the existence of Kim's authoritarian regime.

This is a critical time for Trump as well, with the American public set to deliver its first verdict on his presidency in midterm elections next year. His administration is said to be taking the North Korean threat more seriously than predecessors, and Pyongyang is reportedly a top policy priority. Trump does not want to be the president who let the North get away with developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Next steps

Friday marked North Korea's 14th ballistic missile launch in 2017, keeping the country on track to surpass last year's total. The enormous cost of launching and developing the weapons weighs heavily on the nation's strained finances.

Yet Pyongyang is still scrambling to achieve nuclear power status in hopes of negotiating with Washington. The prevailing view holds that, unless the U.S. eases its stance, Pyongyang will keep up the frenetic pace of its provocations until it completes a nuclear-tipped ICBM.

It is widely believed by North Korea experts that should the U.S. attempt a preemptive strike, Pyongyang will retaliate with attacks on Seoul and American military facilities in Japan. Yet this has not silenced speculation that Trump could push forward with military action anyway. The deep-rooted distrust between Washington and Pyongyang has some fearing what will come of the game of chicken between two inexperienced leaders.

Ironically, mounting tensions have also fueled talk of a possible shock deal that could present a new challenge for Japan and South Korea.

The Trump administration could agree to provide economic aid and effectively recognize North Korea as a nuclear power in exchange for a moratorium on ICBM development. That could leave short- and medium-range missiles aimed at the U.S. allies and force Japan to give up on resolving the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. Seoul and Tokyo are keen to keep themselves and Washington on the same page.