it is difficult to interrupt a capacitive current because

(a)it has a leading power factor

(b)current magnitude is very small
(c)the restriking voltage can be high
(d)stored energy in the capacitor is high
I don't see how the circuit breaker would know or care what kind of current it i
s breaking.
All that matters is the magnitude.
The ability of a set of contacts to successfully interrupt a current depends on
more than just the RMS magnitude of the current.
An AC circuit breaker or contactor depends on the current going through zero to
help extinguish the arc. In a highly inductive circuit,
a fault current's AC waveform may be offset so much that a current zero may not
occur for 3-4 cycles. The breaker has to be derated to be able to interrupt curr
ents
like that. (High X/R's don't usually occur in low or medium voltage circuits unl
ess a lot of generation is on line.)
As the contacts open, the increasing distance between them builds up insulation.
The objective is to make that contact distance bigger than the voltage can jump
as quickly as possible.
(Remember, voltage across the contacts = 0 V when closed and full circuit voltag
e when open.)
When the distance is greater than the voltage can jump, current interruption can
occur at the next current zero.
If there is no current zero, the arc between the contacts can provide a conducti
ve path of ionized air for current to continue to flow.
If the distance is too small, the arc jumps the gap and current continues flowin
g.
A capacitive circuit can increase the voltage across the contacts to more than l
ine voltage.
For example, if the capacitor is de-energized when the voltage wave is maximum p
ositive, that voltage is trapped in the capacitor and
impressed on the one contact while the other contact's AC voltage is going to ma
ximum negative.
The result is higher voltage across the contacts, making it more difficult to ex
tinguish the current.
Capacitive circuits also have other phenomena that need to be considered when ap
plying circuit breakers and contactors.
That is why data sheets will list a reduced amp rating for capacitor switching.
This is not a rigourous technical explanation, but I hope it gets the idea acros
s.
Current magnitude is the biggest governing factor in circuit breaker design in e
ach voltage class, but other parameters are also very important.