A few weeks after North Korea tested tactical weapons, the country tested short-range projectile missiles into the sea. The projectiles travelled from 70 to 200 kilometres towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The previous weapon tested by N Korea was more apt to be used in ground combat.
The news comes in the heels of a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report that global spending on military budget increased by 2.6% to $1.8 trillion in 2018. North Korea, however, was not mentioned in the report. Top spenders according to the report were US and China.
According to South Korea Joint Chief of Staff, the projectiles were fired from Wonsan on the east coast. The latest firing comes just a day after South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Pyongyang should show “visible, concrete and substantial” denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief. That issue was also at the centre of the February talks in Hanoi, where North Korea demanded immediate sanctions relief, but the two sides disagreed on what Pyongyang should give up in return.
Earlier in the week, North Korea Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui had indicated to Washington that there may be an “unwanted outcome” its economic stance was not adjusted. Last year, Kim had refrained from carrying out any missile or nuclear tests as he held his first historic summit with leaders of US and South Korea. The White House said it was “aware of North Korea's actions tonight”. “We will continue to monitor as necessary,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Japan's Defence ministry however said that, there was “no confirmation of ballistic missiles” entering its territory. “At this point, there is no confirmation of any situation that may impact our national security,” the Japanese defence ministry said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, has, since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and Trump in February, has tried to salvage diplomacy, but Pyongyang has remained largely unresponsive.
It was Moon Jae-in who had brokered a meeting between Kim and Trump. Kim slammed the South in a speech to his country's rubber-stamp legislature last month, saying it should not “pose as a meddlesome 'mediator'” between the US and Pyongyang.