Trump: N. Korea talks going ahead despite missile test

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump brushed off North Korea’s test of a sealaunched ballistic missile, saying that planned nuclear talks with Pyongyang will go ahead.

“They want to talk and we’ll be talking to them,” Trump told reporters at the White House in his first public reaction to North Korea’s claim to have entered a ‘ new phase’ with the test of a submarine-launched missile.

“We’ll see,” Trump added, when asked if the test had gone too far for him.

The launch was by far the most significant since Pyongyang first began a dialogue with Washington in 2018 over pressure to give up its nuclear weapons.

Analysts said the new capability, if confirmed, marks a significant step in boosting that program.

Trump has said he sees no problem with a string of short range rocket tests conducted previously by North Korea, while insisting his personal ties with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un remain good.

But a proven submarine-based missile capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.

The launch came with workinglevel talks between Pyongyang and Washington slated to resume later this week.

A team of North Korean negotiators flew into Stockholm Thursday ahead of the talks.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold closed-door talks early next week on the latest test, diplomats said.

The talks were requested by Britain, France and Germany, as the European powers push for the world body to keep up pressure on Pyongyang which is under heavy US and UN sanctions over its weapons program.

North Korea is banned from ballistic missile launches by Security Council resolutions. — AFP