North Korea yesterday fired two projectiles, the South Korean military said, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a deadlock.
The weapons were launched from South Pyongan Province in an easterly direction over the sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without specifying the type of device involved.
“We are maintaining readiness and monitoring in case of additional launches,” they added.
It is the latest in a series of launches by North Korea, but the first since Oct. 2, when it fired a sea-launched missile in a provocative move — a submarine-based missile capability would change the military balance.
North Korea then walked away from working-level nuclear talks with the US in Sweden, saying that it was disappointed at the lack of “new and creative” solutions offered by Washington.
Pyongyang is under multiple sets of international sanctions over its banned nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, which it has said it needs to defend against a possible US invasion.
It is demanding the easing of the measures and has urged Washington to come forward with a new offer by the end of this year.
On Sunday, the North Korean state media carried a statement from Kim Yong-chol — previously North Korea’s counterpart to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — accusing Washington of seeking to “isolate and stifle the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] in a more crafty and vicious way than before.”
He lauded the “close personal relations” between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, but added: “There is a limit to everything.”
Talks between Pyongyang and Washington have stalled since the two leaders’ Hanoi summit broke down without an agreement in February.
The latest launch displayed Pyongyang’s frustration over the lack of progress in nuclear talks, analysts have said.
“The launch is a display of its warning to both Seoul and Washington that it can carry out more military activities unless the US comes up with a ‘new method,’” Kyungnam University North Korean studies professor Lim Eul-chul said.
Yesterday’s launch came despite Kim Jong-un on Wednesday sending a message of sympathy to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the death of his mother, who was born in North Korea.
“The North’s behavior is not rational that it does something like this during the mourning period,” Lim said. “The launch today shows that the true nature of North Korea is inexplicable in our value system.”
Kim Jong-un last week inspected the Mount Kumgang complex, but this week refused Seoul’s request for face-to-face meetings about it.
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