North Korea successfully test-fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, just hours before US President Donald Trump heads to South Korea on Wednesday for the final leg of his Asia trip.
The missiles flew for more than two hours before accurately striking targets, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. The agency claimed that the weapons would contribute to expanding the operational sphere of the country’s nuclear-armed military.
The North Korean report came hours before an expected summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju, where South Korea is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and US president is also scheduled to hold a summit with Chinese President
Xi Jinping, AP news reported.
KCNA said the tests were attended by senior military official Pak Jong Chon, who also inspected training for sailors aboard North Korea’s newly developed destroyers Choe Hyon and Kang Kon, which leader Kim Jong Un has described as key assets in his efforts to strengthen the navy.
Trump expressed interest in meeting with Kim during his stay in South Korea, however, South Korean officials said a Trump–Kim meeting was unlikely.
North Korea has shunned any form of talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 during the American President’s first term.
Kim’s top foreign policy priority is now Russia. In recent months, he sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and positioning his country as part of a united front against the US-led West.
Last month, Kim reiterated he would not return to talks with the United States unless Washington dropped its demand for North Korea’s denuclearisation, after Trump repeatedly expressed his hopes for new diplomacy.
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