PYONGYANG, North Korea — The U.S. airstrikes this week were aimed at a Syrian air base, but almost certainly got the attention of another adversary — North Korea.
Heading into the first talks between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, North Korea was the front-and-center security issue on the table. But Trump’s decision to launch the airstrikes changed that dynamic quite abruptly — and for Pyongyang, more than talk of sanctions or deeper isolation, the missiles may well have been the message.
