By Moon Chung-in and John Delury
Pyongyang’s announcement to launch a satellite into outer space has, in one stroke, smashed hopes of a thaw in U.S.-North Korea relations, generating a palpable sense of despair among many longtime proponents of talking to the North.
The surprise decision made a mockery of the Feb. 29 “Leap Day Deal,” the first major foreign relations decision of the Kim Jong-un leadership and the first deal yet reached with the Obama administration.