A matter of a few weeks after it was all hugs and smiles at the DMZ between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S.,… we have news that the North has lobbed more projectiles into the East Sea.
Let's get straight to our defense ministry correspondent Kim Ji-yeon, who's on the line.
Ji-yeon, tell us more about what seems to be another provocation of sorts.
Sure.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed earlier this morning that North Korea had fired one short-range missile and one unidentified projectile from North Korea's eastern city of Wonsan at 5:34 and 5:57AM, Korea time, this Thursday.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff say the first one is a short-range missile that flew 430 kilometers towards the East Sea... after being launched from a transporter erector launcher.
Both of the weapons flew at an altitude of some 50 kilometers... and both of them flew in an easterly direction... from the Hodo Peninsula.
It says it's currently working with the U.S. to verify the second unidentified projectile... including its flight distance.
The last time North Korea test-fired a missile was back in early May... when it also tested a new tactical guided weapon.
Despite repeated questions from the media on whether they could be officially verified as "ballistic", this was not confirmed... and it's highly unlikely that the South Korean military will announce that that they're ballistic.
The military says it's been closely watching the Wonsan area, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has recently made public appearances.... and this is where North Korea had launched a Musudan ballistic missile in June 2016... to show the regime has made significant progress in its missile development as the missile flew 400 kilometers.
The launch comes as Washington has sought to restart working-level negotiations on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program in line with an agreement reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their impromptu meeting at the inter-Korean border on June 30.
The last time North Korea fired projectiles was on May 9 when it launched two short-range missiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of frustration over stalled talks with the U.S.
Last week, the North warned that the resumption of working-level talks would be affected by whether Seoul and Washington would go ahead with joint military exercises planned for next month.
The Blue House says it's been briefed and that the incident will be discussed later today at South Korea's National Security Council.
That's all I have for now. Back to you.
