국방부 "미 국방대행, 북한 '미사일' 표현 공식 분석 결과 아냐"
North Korea’s firing of another projectile this afternoon comes while the South Korean government is still figuring out what exactly it was North Korea fired on Saturday.
While Pyeongyang claims that Saturday’s projectile launch was part of its regular, self-defensive training,... acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan used the term 'missiles and rockets' when referring to those projectiles.
Our Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
North Korea's foreign ministry says its firing of short-range projectiles off its east coast last Saturday was regular, self-defensive training.
"The recent drill conducted by our army is nothing more than part of the regular military training, and it has neither targeted anyone nor led to an aggravation of the situation in the region."
The statement released Wednesday appears to be aimed at South Korea after Seoul's Defense Ministry warned that the military activity went against the intent of the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and urged Pyeongyang to refrain from raising military tensions on the peninsula.
The U.S. had been taking a relatively moderate stance on Saturday's firing,... with both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump saying they're still open to negotiations with Pyeongyang.
But at a Congressional hearing Wednesday, Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said North Korea had fired "rockets and missiles."
Seoul's Defense Ministry, on the other hand, is taking a more cautious stance. It says what exactly was fired has yet to be finally determined.
"In using the term 'rockets and missiles',... Secretary Shanahan referred to the exact moment of the firing on May 4th when he received initial reports from General Dunford. We understand that Shanahan was not officially speaking about the analysis result of the North's military activity."
Seoul's Defense Ministry says South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are currently analyzing what the regime launched. It added the South Korea-U.S. military alliance is always strengthening its monitoring system of the North while continuously developing response measures.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News
