Sat 24 August 2019:
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Saturday morning, the Japanese government said, with the launch coming a day after Seoul informed Tokyo of its decision to scrap a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact.
It was the latest in a series of short-range missile tests the nuclear-armed nation has carried out in recent weeks in protest against US-South Korean military exercises, which it sees as a rehearsal for invasion. The latest joint drill wrapped up on Tuesday.
South Korea’s military said North Korea fired what were believed to be short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its eastern coast from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province in Pyongyang’s seventh round of such launches since July 25.
The missiles, fired at 6:45 a.m. and 7:02 a.m., flew about 380 kilometers at a top speed of Mach 6.5 and reached a maximum altitude of about 97 km, Yonhap News Agency quoted the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying.
‘Biggest threat’
South Korea’s military said it would share intelligence on the launches with Japan despite Seoul saying earlier this week that it was terminating such exchanges amid a growing diplomatic and trade spat with its neighbour, which had raised concern it could weaken tracking of Pyongyang’s actions by the US allies.
In a letter received by Trump on Aug. 8, Kim said the missile testing “would stop when the (U.S.-South Korea) exercises end,” according to the American leader. Kim also expressed his desire to hold more summit talks following the end of the drills, Trump said.
But with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho criticizing his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo on Friday for his recent vow to continue sanctions on Pyongyang if it does not denuclearize, the missile launches may have been a fresh warning before the possible restart of working-level talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
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