Kim Jong Un supervised the launch of "a new type of tactical guided weapon," North Korean media have reported, in a warning to Seoul. The US and South Korea have urged Pyongyang to avoid provocations and resume talks.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/Jung Yeon-je
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North Korea's test of "a new type of tactical guided weapon" was intended as a warning to South Korea over arms purchases and plans to hold military exercises, state media KCNA said Friday. On Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launch of two new ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. The US said the missiles were short range.
The missile launch is the first by North Korea since the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump met late last month in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in a bid to revive denuclearization talks.
'Handshake for peace' – Trump crosses into North Korea
US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim have met once again, this time in the Demilitarized Zone. In a largely symbolic meeting, Trump and Kim hailed their personal close relationship amid stalled nuclear talks.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Network Pool
Third Kim-Trump meeting
It was the third meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in just over a year. The first Trump-Kim summit took place in Singapore in June last year. A meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, was held in February 2019. Both meetings failed to provide a clear roadmap for North Korea's denuclearization.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Making history
Trump made history on June 30 with his latest encounter with Kim. He's the first sitting US president to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides South and North Korea. Trump briefly crossed into North Korea as he shook hands with Kim. He said he was "proud to step over the line."
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
Watching over the North
Prior to his meeting with Kim, Trump flew to the DMZ with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The US president met with South Korean and American troops as he watched over North Korea from a military post in the DMZ. US presidents in the past have visited American troops on the South Korean side but not set foot in the DMZ.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
'Great friendship'
From calling Kim Jong Un "little rocket man" to someone he has a "certain chemistry" with, Trump has come a long way in his dealing with North Korea. On June 30, he once again emphasized his personal ties with the North Korean dictator. Kim, too, hailed his "wonderful" relationship with Trump, saying the latest meeting would enable nuclear talks.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/B. Smialowski
'In no rush'
Washington and Pyongyang blame each other for the impasse over nuclear talks, but Trump is hopeful for a breakthrough. Although his previous two meetings with the North Korean leader didn't yield any result, Trump said he was "in no rush" to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Image: picture-alliance/Yonhapnews Agency
Regime survival
Experts have warned that North Korea may never agree to fully give up its nuclear ambitions, which they say Pyongyang views as vital for regime survival. In March, new satellite imagery suggested that North Korea started rebuilding a rocket launch site before Kim and Trump's Vietnam summit in Feruary. The site had been dismantled last year as part of Kim's denuclearization pledge.
Image: picture-alliance/Yonhap
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'Solemn warning'
KCNA did not mention Trump, but Kim reportedly criticized planned South Korean military drills that are usually conducted with US troops.
Kim accused South Korea of showing "strange double-dealing behavior" by talking peace, but then "behind the scenes, shipping ultra-modern offensive weapons and holding joint military exercises," according to KCNA.
The North Korean ruler was reported to have overseen the development of the missiles and the launch.
"We cannot but develop nonstop super-powerful weapon systems to remove the potential and direct threats to the security of our country that exist in the South," Kim said, calling the missile tests a "solemn warning to South Korean military warmongers."
North Korea has called for an end to joint US-South Korean military exercises as a precondition for denuclearization talks. On Thursday, the United States and South Korea urged Pyongyang to avoid escalating tensions and to resume working-level talks on denuclearization.
Asked about the short-range missile launch on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox Newsthat when Kim met Trump at the DMZ the North Korean leader had agreed to "avoid launching intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles" and "put his negotiating team back in the game."
Pompeo said the two sides could resume talks in the near future.
"I think we're still going to go sit down and have a conversation about this," Pompeo said. "North Korea has engaged in activity before we were having diplomatic conversations far worse than this — more importantly, far more dangerous for America and Japan and for South Korea than this."
"You know, lots of countries posture before they come to the table," he said.
