North Korea yesterday fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said, a week before a key Asia-Pacific leaders’ meeting in South Korea.
It was the first launch of ballistic missiles since May by Pyongyang, which has defied a UN Security Council ban on the weapons.
It was also the first such launch since South Korean President Lee Jae-myung was elected, with a platform of engagement with North Korea.
Photo: Reuters
Lee and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet in South Korea next week at an APEC summit. Trump is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
South Korea detected several projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles fired from an area near North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, in a northeasterly direction early yesterday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Lee and Trump have discussed the idea of trying to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when the US president visits the South, but Pyongyang has not publicly responded to the idea.
US officials considered, but never confirmed, a trip to the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, a person familiar with the discussions said.
South Korea has suspended tours of the Joint Security Area at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom until early next month, but has not confirmed any plans for a meeting with Kim.
Trump and Kim held three summits during Trump’s 2017 to 2021 term and exchanged a number of letters that Trump called “beautiful,” before the unprecedented diplomatic effort broke down over US demands that Kim give up his nuclear weapons.
Kim last month expressed “fond memories” of Trump, saying there was no reason to avoid talks with the US if Washington stopped insisting his country give up nuclear weapons, but he would never abandon the nuclear arsenal to end sanctions.
“It is not at all inconceivable that Donald Trump could here in Washington, D.C., say: ‘Denuclearization, that’s our goal, that’s our policy’ and then go up to Panmunjom and say: ‘Oh, you know, Kim Jong-un is a nuclear power,’” Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea chair Victor Cha said.
“Even if it’s a short meeting, in the broader scheme of things, with all that the United States has to deal with these days, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing,” he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
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