Visitors use binoculars to see the North side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, May 6. North Korea appears to have tested a new short-range missile. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

President Moon Jae-in needs to send a special envoy to North Korea as early as possible to demand the halt of any further provocative actions following the North's recent missile launches, analysts said Tuesday.

They said even conventional weapons testing could put Washington-Pyongyang relations on a downward spiral. As President Moon acts not only as a facilitator of nuclear dialogue, but as an advocate that Pyongyang and Washington can trust, sending an envoy will help the Koreas and the U.S. avoid further tension, they added.

An envoy could discuss specific conciliatory incentives such as snapback provisions on sanctions easing, a resumption of humanitarian assistance, and Washington's promise for security guarantees.

"North Korea's latest missile tests show how fragile both the nuclear issue and President Donald Trump's personal diplomacy with Kim Jong-un are. Against this backdrop, Moon should send a special envoy to the North as soon as possible to keep the nuclear diplomacy going," Kim Kyung-min, a diplomacy professor at Hanyang University, said.

Kim Hyung-seok, a former vice unification minister, also supported the idea of dispatching a special envoy to "minimize North Korea's provocations" in order to prevent angering the U.S., specifically Trump.