Iran Press/Asia: North Korea on Tuesday also lashed out at the United States and South Korea for continuing military exercises that the North says could derail fragile nuclear diplomacy.
North Korea’s fourth round of weapons launches in less than two weeks came amid a standstill in nuclear negotiations and after the US President, Donald Trump repeatedly dismissed the significance of the country’s recent tests despite the threat the weapons pose to ally South Korea and US bases there, the Associated Press reported.
Experts say the North’s weapons displays could intensify in the coming months if progress isn’t made on the nuclear talks.
South Korea’s military alerted reporters to the launches minutes before North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced Washington and Seoul over the start of their joint exercises on Monday.
Tension over South Korea-United States military drills
The ministry’s statement said the drills, which North Korea sees as an invasion rehearsal, leave the country “compelled to develop, test and deploy the powerful physical means essential for national defense.”
The statement from an unidentified spokesperson said Pyongyang remains committed to dialogue, but it could seek a “new road” if the allies don’t change their positions.
“It is too axiomatic that a constructive dialogue cannot be expected at a time when a simulated war practice targeted at the dialogue partner is being conducted,” said the statement released by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“We remain unchanged in our stand to resolve the issues through dialogue. But the dynamics of dialogue will be more invisible as long as the hostile military moves continue,” the statement added.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two projectiles the North flew cross-country were likely short-range ballistic missiles.
They were launched early Tuesday from an area near the North’s western coast and traveled about 450 kilometers on an apogee of 37 kilometers at a maximum speed of above Mach 6.9 before landing in waters off the country’s eastern coast, the JCS said.
The JCS said the projectiles showed similar flight characteristics to short-range missiles North Korea fired on July 25, which traveled about 600 kilometers during launches the North described a “solemn warning” to South Korea over its plans to continue military drills with the United States.
Pyongyang says Washington has betrayed the spirit of the June summit by making unilateral demands for denuclearization first without taking any reciprocal measures, including for past North Korean goodwill steps.
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