Seoul, May 4
North Korea fired several short-range projectiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, as analysts said the country is stepping up pressure against the United States after February’s failed nuclear summit in Hanoi. The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but
subsequently gave a more vague description.
If the unidentified projectiles were missiles, it would be the first missile launch since the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Soon after that missile test, the North declared that its nuclear force was complete, after which Pyongyang extended an olive branch to the South and the United States. In a statement, South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired several unidentified short-range projectiles from the east coast city of Wonsan around 9 am in a north-easterly direction.
The South Korean military said it was conducting joint analysis with the United States of the latest launches. Experts say the projectiles seem to be multiple rocket launchers, not ballistic missiles.
Analysts said no matter what type of projectile was fired, the timing of North Korea’s latest action sent a message after the failed summit between North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and the US. President Donald Trump in February, when the two disagreed over weapons dismantlement and sanctions relief.
“It is an expression of the North’s frustration over stalled talks with the United States. It is a message that it could return to the previous confrontational mode if there is no breakthrough in the stalemate,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defence and Security Forum. — Reuters
A warning to US
- The latest firing, coming after the North’s test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April, added to the pressure Pyongyang has sought to exert on the United States to give ground in negotiations to end the North’s nuclear programme
- “The firing is a warning to the US that if the US keeps pressure and sanctions, the North will launch more powerful missiles,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2Lo5eXa
via Today’s News Headlines
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