North Korea fires missiles as frustration grows with US

NORTH Korea launched two missiles yesterday in its 12th test since May, signalling growing frustration from leader Kim Jong-un over the deadlock in nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

The test-fire came just days after North Korea reminded the United States of its end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to change its approach to negotiations on the dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear weapons programme, demanding it come back with a better offer.

The short-range projectiles, which Japan’s defence ministry said “appeared to be ballistic missiles” were launched from South Pyongan province, reaching an altitude of 55 miles and flying about 230 miles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.

The missiles did not land within Japanese territory. Shinzō Abe, the Japanese prime minister, strongly condemned the test and called it a threat to the peace and security of Japan and the region.

North Korea fired a series of test missiles over the summer, and earlier this month it fired an underwater-launched ballistic missile – which in theory could carry a nuclear warhead – for the first time in three years.

Pyongyang says the missiles are necessary to defend against new weapons acquired by South Korea, including the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet.

However, it is widely believed that the repeated testing of new weapons systems are aimed at pressuring the US to come back to the negotiating table after peace talks between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed at a Hanoi summit in February.

Experts said the tests could have involved North Korea’s newly developed multiple rocket launcher system.

Kim Dong-yub, a former navy officer who teaches at Seoul’s Kyungnam University, said the launches could be a “running test-fire” with the aim of finetuning the system for full production.