SEOUL/WASHINGTON: North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles on Thursday in a likely protest by leader Kim Jong Un at the United States after he and President Donald Trump failed to reach agreement on nuclear weapons and missiles at a February summit, South Korea said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who earlier cut short a European trip to return to Washington for meetings on Iran, would also have discussions on North Korea after learning of the launches, a senior US State Department official said.
The launches came less than a week after Kim oversaw the test-firing of multiple rockets and a missile and coincided with a visit to the South Korean capital by US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun.
The two missiles fired on Thursday went in an easterly direction from the northwestern area of Kusong, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
They covered distances of 420 km (260 miles) and 270 km (168 miles) and reached an altitude of about 50 km (30 miles) before falling into the sea, they said.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said: “We’re aware of the reports and monitoring.”
“North Korea seemed to be discontented it could not reach a deal in Hanoi,” South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in told South Korean broadcaster KBS, referring to a summit in Hanoi in February with Trump.
North Korea has effectively pulled back from engagement with Washington since the summit, which fell apart without any agreement on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
South Korea’s Moon said that even if the missiles fired on Thursday were short range, they could still violate UN resolutions barring North Korea from developing its ballistic missile force.
Even so, Moon said he saw the tests as a sign that North Korea wanted to negotiate, and said he planned to push for a fourth inter-Korean summit with Kim.
Pompeo was due to meet Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday afternoon in Washington.