North Korea launches new short-range ‘missile’

Seoul: North Korea launched unidentified projectiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what could be Pyong-yang’s first short-range missile launch for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washin-gton with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The US and North Korea have been at loggerheads since the collapse of a summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February, where the two sides clashed over sanctions and the extent of Pyongyang’s concessions on its atomic arsenal. North Korea “fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9.06 am (0006 GMT) to 9.27 am today”, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 km towards the East Sea, the JCS added. In an earlier statement, it said Pyongyang had launched an unidentified short-range missile.

The last North Korean missile launch was in November 2017.

The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show “visible, concrete and substantial” denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions reli-ef, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyon-gyang should give up in return.

Earlier this week, North Korean vice-foreign minister Choe Son Hui warned Washington of an “unwanted outcome” if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions.

North Korea did not carry out any missile or nuclear tests last year, as Kim held his first historic summits with the leaders of the US and South Korea. Saturday’s launch “does not violate Kim Jong Un’s self-imposed missile-testing moratorium”, which “only applied to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles”, said North Korea analyst Ankit Panda.

“North Korea historically did not generally test anything while talks were on with the US. Talks are not on.” The White House said it was “aware of North Korea’s actions tonight”. “We will continue to monitor as necessary,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Japan, meanwhile, said there was “no confirmation of ballistic missiles” entering its territory.

“At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security,” the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.

Hodo Peninsula, where Saturday’s firing took place, has been used as a training area for “live-fire testing, training exercises for artillery and coastal defence cruise missiles” since the 1960s, according to the respected 38 North website.