North Korea has reportedly launched two projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast as Pyongyang continues to tease President Donald Trump, who had said the launching does not violate the agreement he previously had with Kim.
This latest launch follows a series of short-range missiles tested by Pyongyang shortly after the visit of Trump into North Korea for the first time by any US President.
The missiles were reportedly fired from a launch site in Kangwon Province on Friday morning local time.
The missiles flew for around 230 kilometres at an altitude of around 30 kilometres before falling into the sea, the JSC said.
“Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while maintaining a readiness posture,” the South Korean military said, without providing any details as to the makeup or type of the two projectiles.
Tokyo has said that the projectiles failed to reach the Japanese territory or its exclusive economic zone, and did not pose any threat to the country’s security.
The fresh launch comes less than a week after North Korea fired two short-range missiles from an area near the northeastern city of Hamhung.
They plunged into the sea as well. That reported test came just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with his South Korean counterparts in Seoul on Saturday.
It is the sixth time in little more than three weeks that Pyongyang has conducted a missile test. They had been suspended due to a thaw in the US-North Korean relations.
With the denuclearization talks stalled due to Washington’s insistence that Pyongyang must first disarm itself of all its nukes before any sanctions can be relaxed, North Korea has ramped up its missile activity, accusing the allies of sabre-rattling by holding military drills on its doorstep.
Trump has so far brushed aside concerns over Pyongyang’s missile program from war hawks in the mainstream media.
The president said last Friday he received a “beautiful letter” with “a small apology” for the recent avalanche of tests from North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
Ironically, it came just hours before the Saturday morning test-launch by Pyongyang.