North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump said he expected to meet with Kim Jong Un later this year and a day after Washington moved to shorten military exercises with South Korea.
South Korea’s military said the missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area toward waters east of the Korean Peninsula. Officials gave slightly different counts, but the exercise apparently involved about 10 missiles.
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The launches came as the U.S. and South Korea prepare to end Ulchi Freedom Shield on Friday, nearly a week earlier than originally planned.
Trump ordered the exercise scaled back, pointing to what he called his “very good relationship” with Kim and saying the drills sent a “totally inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea. He also cited South Korea’s lack of support for the U.S. war with Iran.
Pyongyang rejects scaled-back drills
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, said Wednesday that shortening the exercise did not change what Pyongyang sees as its threatening nature.
“The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced,” she said.
Kim Yo Jong also disputed Trump’s claim that Kim Jong Un had recently responded to an attempt to start a conversation, saying she was unaware of any new communication between the leaders.
However, she said her brother has “good memories and feelings” toward Trump and described their personal relationship as “excellent.”
South Korea calls launch a ‘grave act’
South Korea called an emergency security meeting after detecting the missiles.
The presidential office condemned the launch as a “grave act” that violated U.N. Security Council resolutions and told the military to remain fully prepared while the joint exercise continues.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles traveled about 186 miles. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers they were believed to be North Korea’s KN-25, a system Pyongyang has previously described as capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads.
In Japan, the prime minister’s office issued an emergency alert saying North Korea had launched a suspected ballistic missile. The office later said the prime minister ordered officials to assess the launch, update the public, protect aircraft and vessels, and prepare for any further developments.
Trump still expects a meeting
Trump met Kim three times during his first term, but those talks ended without an agreement limiting North Korea’s nuclear program.
Asked Wednesday whether he expected to meet Kim again this year, Trump answered, “Yeah, I will be.”
He also said it was important to “get along” with the North Korean leader.
Trump said North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons. South Korean officials offered a considerably higher estimate Thursday, saying they believe Pyongyang has between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.
South Korea’s defense minister said Seoul still opposes formally recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state and said he did not believe Washington had abandoned the goal of denuclearization.
Missile launches remain part of the pattern
North Korea has repeatedly fired missiles during or around major U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which Pyongyang has long described as preparations for an invasion.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Reuters that Thursday’s launch appeared intended to reinforce Kim Yo Jong’s warning from the previous day.
He said the launch also appeared to push back against the joint drills and outside debate over North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, meanwhile, said he would support Trump’s efforts to pursue diplomacy with Pyongyang while continuing his own push to strengthen South Korea’s defenses.
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