South Korea: North Korea Fires Unidentified Projectiles

By Staff, Agencies

It comes just days after reports surfaced that Pyongyang had fired short-range projectiles into the ocean from the DPRK's east cost in what is understood to be its first missile launch in 18 months.

North Korea has launched a projectile, according to South Korea's military command, noting that the model was unspecified.

The projectile was launched at about 4:30 p.m. [7:30 GMT] from northwest North Korea toward the east, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Thursday.

Last week, the North fired a number of rockets and at least one short-range ballistic missile from the coastal city of Wonsan into the ocean.

North Korean state media confirmed that leader Kim Jong-un had overseen live-fire drills of long-range multiple rocket launchers and a new short-range missile. North Korean officials said the drills were part of routine military training and were not meant to aggravate the situation in the region.

The test marked the first time the North had fired a missile since November 2017, when it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile eastward over northern Japan.

Pyongyang paused its nuclear and ballistic missile tests last April amid a thaw in relations between Pyongyang and both Seoul and Washington. North Korea has since taken part in several rounds of peace talks and dismantled purported key test sites for its missile and nuclear weapons programs.

The latest round of denuclearization negotiations between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump stalled in February. Trump explained that North Korea demanded a complete sanctions relief in exchange for only partial denuclearization, although Pyongyang insisted that Kim asked for removal of some of the sanctions. Trump said last month that a third summit with Kim would be good, but no meeting has been officially scheduled so far.