North Korea

[Indus Falcon]

State Department: US, Russia Agree to Continue Diplomacy Over N. Korea
December 27, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have "agreed to continue to work toward a diplomatic solution to achieve a denuclearized Korean peninsula," the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

A U.S. statement said the two spoke by phone Tuesday to discuss concerns related to North Korea's "destabilizing nuclear program and emphasized that neither the United States nor Russia accepts" Pyongyang as a nuclear power.

A day earlier, Russia's Foreign Ministry said that Lavrov told his American counterpart that "Washington's aggressive rhetoric" has heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. Russia also said Lavrov called the U.S. rhetoric unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had imposed sanctions on two North Korean officials for their role in Pyongyang's ballistic missile program.

The move followed the U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval of a resolution Friday limiting the amount of gasoline and diesel North Korea can import and tightening inspections of ships suspected of illegally carrying banned items to or from North Korea.

North Korea has significantly stepped up its nuclear and missile programs in 2017, launching a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called a Hwasong-15 last month. North Korea claims the missile is capable of delivering nuclear warheads anywhere in the continental United States. The test was Pyongyang's third ICMB test this year and its 20th ballistic missile launch of this year.

Earlier in the year, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "Little Rocket Man," fueling tensions between the two countries. The U.S. has increased sanctions on North Korea following the missile tests.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-russia-diplomacy-north-korea/4181300.html

 

[Khafee]

Russia’s radar shortcomings are a US problem now
By: Kelsey Atherton
03 Jan 2018

Lost in the overall frenzy of North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missile test last July was a peculiar detail of understated significance: While the United States, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea all agreed that the Hwasong-14 was an ICBM, one country did not.

Spoiler alert: It was Russia.

Russia instead claimed the missile was only an intermediate range (and not intercontinental) ballistic missile. In July, The Diplomat walked through some possibilities of what this might mean, be it technical error, political gamesmanship, or a genuine deficiency in capability.

After the second North Korean test of an ICBM in July, Russia again refused match the rest of the world in declaring the ICBM test as an ICBM. This repeated failure suggests a limitation in current Russian early-warning radars.

From The Diplomat:

Given the relatively large wavelength of UHF radars such as Russia’s Voronezh systems, which are primarily designed to detect incoming U.S. ICBMs, it isn’t implausible that the Russian platforms were simply incapable of detecting the comparatively smaller North Korean Hwasong-14’s second stage. (Other phenomena, such as radar refraction over the curvature of the earth, can affect the effectiveness of these radar systems.)​

Gaps and limitations in Russia’s early warning capability have long been documented by foreign observers. And while North Korea has never been the adversary Russian radars are designed to watch, a failure to see North Korean ICBMs could mean Russia instead detects missile interceptors fired by the United States as a unique threat, rather than a response to a launch by Pyongyang. (Joshua Pollack explored that possibility, complete with diagrams and maps in 2009.)

In December 2016 Russia boasted that it completed construction of its early-warning coverage, and in December 2017, Russia’s Air and Space Forces announced the start of combat operations at its last three early warning sites.

And there remains a curious omission: Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov took until December to acknowledge that North Korea had any ICBMs at all, and even then, only acknowledged the November test of the much larger Hwasong-15.

All this leaves a distinct possibility that, should North Korea launch a Hwasong-14, Russia would be unable to see the smaller ICBM as what it actually is, and in what would invariably be a tense hour, might misread actions and intentions after that point. Which, in turn, casts a lot of doubt on the success and utility of even the newly completed early warning system.

https://www.defensenews.com/intel-g...sias-radar-shortcomings-are-a-us-problem-now/

 

[AleksBudka17]

North Korea has been fanning fears of World War 3 with its refusal to shut down its nuclear development programme.
US President Trump used his speech in front of leading members of the global business community in Davos to once again rally support to put an end to the North Korean threat.
Mr Trump said: "My Administration is proud to have led the historic effort at the United Nations Security Council and all around the world to unite all civilised nations in our campaign of maximum pressure to de-nuke the Korean peninsula.

SKY NEWS•GETTY
North Korea news: Donald Trump called on the world to help put an end to the Kim regime
"To make the world safer from rogue regimes, terrorism and revisionist powers, we are asking our friends and allies to invest in their own defences and to meet their financial obligations.
"Our common security requires everyone to contribute their fair share."
President Trump campaigned in favour of harsher UN economic sanctions against North Korea after Kim Jong-un failed to put an end to his missile testing campaign despite repeated warnings.
Last year, North Korea conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, as it raced towards its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching the United States.
The President also announced the United States would further invest in its military to ensure the protection of US citizens and its allies from the threat of the Kim regime.
Speaking in Switzerland, Donald Trump continued: "We are making historic investments in the American military because we cannot have prosperity without security."
In an attempt to defuse tensions, Kim accepted offers to enter peace talks with South Korea ahead of the Winter Olympics Games scheduled to take place in February.
After their first formal talks in more than two years this month, officials from the two Koreas have been visiting each other to facilitate the North's participation in the Olympics, to be held in the South's alpine resort town of Pyeongchang.
North Korea has waged a publicity campaign around its attendance, calling on "all Koreans at home and abroad" to promote inter-Korean cooperation.
But US Vice President Mike Pence, who will represent the United States at the Olympics, said he would seek to counter what he described as an effort by North Korea to "hijack" the Games with a propaganda campaign.

South Korea Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said: ”There is a high possibility that the North could hold an intimidating military parade by mobilising sizeable numbers of military personnel and almost all of its weapons.”
Korean watchers 38 North said: “If the North goes ahead with a military parade on February 8, coinciding with the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics, it will likely warrant much criticism from sceptics of inter-Korean dialogue.
Reports claim North Korea is expected to show off new military technology on February 8 as satellite images show preparation for giant parade underway ahead of celebrations.
The parade is expected to throw off process made in talks between the two Koreas after historic dialogues ahead of the Winter Games.

 

[I.R.A]

Why can't we try a different approach with North Korea ......... its a closed society, its people hardly know the outside world, and any plans of implementing change from outside would be disastrous. Why not open up to NK people and make them realise why change is beneficial for them ......... obviously over some time.

 

[Lieutenant]

Why can't we try a different approach with North Korea ......... its a closed society, its people hardly know the outside world, and any plans of implementing change from outside would be disastrous. Why not open up to NK people and make them realise why change is beneficial for them ......... obviously over some time.

How is that achievable when the internet in NK is censored and monitored?

 

[I.R.A]

How is that achievable when the internet in NK is censored and monitored?

Open up and lift the sanctions, instead of threatening to attack them every now and then ...... lets not give an excuse for another missile test. It would basically be denying the dictator every opportunity to strengthen his hold on the people. This approach may take longer but ultimately it would pay off ......

 

[Lieutenant]

Open up and lift the sanctions, instead of threatening to attack them every now and then ...... lets not give an excuse for another missile test. It would basically be denying the dictator every opportunity to strengthen his hold on the people. This approach may take longer but ultimately it would pay off ......

Oh yes that is another way of looking at that however, Jim doesn't trust anyone especially with the west threatening to overthrow him every now and then calling him a dictator and what not. If Trump would want to act maturely and encourage negotiation then we might see another turn in this file. But with the current attitude toward NK don't expect a good faith in return.

 

[Khafee]

South Korea defense chief: North’s nuclear strike rhetoric just ‘propaganda‘
30.01.2018
By: Daniel Cebul  

In this Sept. 15, 2017, file photo, a man watches footage of North Korea's missile launch and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

WASHINGTON — South Korea‘s defense minister says she has doubts North Korea will use a nuclear weapon against South Korea or the United States.

Responding to an audience question at the Fullerton Forum, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies on Monday in Singapore, Song Young-moo wrote off nuclear threats by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as mere “propaganda.”

“It’s an anachronistic idea that North Korea will use nuclear weapons for the unification (of the two Koreas),” Song said.

A nuclear strike launched from the North toward the South — or the United States — would invoke a response that would remove “the North Korean regime” from the map, effectively making such an attack “suicidal,” he added.

The minister stressed that South Korea remains committed to achieving the “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. This effort is part of South Korea’s “process toward peace and our goal and our basic position that can never be yielded,” he said.

These statements align with what South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha shared with global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. “The [North Korean] nuclear issue has to be solved through negotiations and diplomatic endeavors. This idea of a military solution is unacceptable,” she said.

However, she conceded that another North Korean nuclear test or the equivalent would “not be acceptable” and would likely result in further sanctions.

Nuclear and arms control expert Kingston Reif said on Twitter that these statements were “a clear rebuke” to the White House’s approach to North Korea’s nuclear program.


But despite any differences of opinion, Kang insisted South Korea and the U.S. are “on the same page on all fronts.”

 

[Khafee]

North Korea Test-Fires a New Tactical Guided Weapon

FILE PHOTO -- This image made from video of a news bulletin aired by North Korea's KRT on May 22, 2017, shows Kim Jong Un watching the test launch of what was said to be the Pukguksong-2 missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea in 2017. (KRT via AP Video)

17 Apr 2019
The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced that it has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon.
The Korean Central News Agency says Chairman Kim Jong Un observed the firing of the weapon Wednesday by the Academy of Defense Science.

The agency reports that Kim said "the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People's Army."

The agency says Kim mounted an observation post to learn about the test-fire of the new-type tactical guided weapon and guide the test-fire.

The announcement came after reports of new activity at a North Korean missile research center and long-range rocket site where the North is believed to build long-range missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.

The White House said it was aware of the report and had no comment.

The Associated Press could not immediately and independently verify North Korea's claim.


North Korea Test-Fires a New Tactical Guided Weapon

 

[Khafee]

Pentagon confirms North Korea test launch, says it wasn’t a ballistic missile
By: Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press   19.04.2019

A mock North Korea's Scud-B missile, left, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

WASHINGTON — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is confirming that North Korea conducted a test launch on Wednesday, but he declined to provide any details.
He is the first U.S. official to confirm the launch. He tells reporters at the Pentagon that North Korea conducted a test, but it didn't involve a ballistic weapon and didn't trigger any change in U.S. military operations.

North Korea has said it test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon. The test didn't appear to be of a banned mid- or long-range ballistic missile that could scuttle ongoing nuclear negotiations.

Pyongyang also is demanding that Washington remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from nuclear negotiations. The State Department says it’s aware of the report and the U.S. remains ready to engage North Korea in constructive negotiations.

Pentagon confirms North Korea test launch, says it wasn’t a ballistic missile

 

[Khafee]

Seoul: North Korea Tests Short-Range Projectiles
May 03, 2019

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —
North Korea has test-fired several short-range projectiles, South Korea said Saturday, in what appears to be Pyongyang’s latest provocation following the breakdown of nuclear talks.

North Korea fired the barrage of projectiles from the eastern town of Wonsan into the sea off Korea’s east coast just after 9 a.m. local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Earlier, South Korean officials described the projectiles as missiles. No other details about the weapons were immediately available, but a short-
range missile test would not violate international sanctions on North Korea’s missile program.

North Korea has not commented on the test.

Japan’s Defense Ministry says it has not detected signs that any of the North Korean projectiles reached Japan's territory or its 200-nautical-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone.

Testing the moratorium
Since November 2017, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed a self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Testing a short-range ballistic missile “might skirt the line” on that moratorium, says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Kim has stated (the moratorium) only applies to ICBMs, while the U.S. believes it applies more broadly,” Narang says. “It’s enough to signal slightly greater concern but giving the U.S. an out if it wants to, to dismiss it as not a violation of the moratorium.”

After the launch, U.S. President Donald Trump was “fully briefed” by National Security Adviser John Bolton, according to a senior administration official.

“We are aware of North Korea’s actions tonight. We will continue to monitor as necessary,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Measured escalations
North Korea, which wants sanctions relief from the U.S., has carried out a series of measured escalations since nuclear talks with the U.S. broke down.

Most notably, the North said last month it conducted a test of a tactical guided weapon. It has also threatened to respond to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he will give the U.S. until the end of the year to become more flexible in nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to giving up its entire nuclear weapons program.

Seoul: North Korea Tests Short-Range Projectiles

A short-range missile would not violate international sanctions on North Korea's missile program

www.voanews.com

 

[Khafee]

North Korea: Multiple rocket launchers, tactical guided weapons tested
By Allen Cone
May 5, 2019

North Korean rocket launchers fire weapons during a "strike drill" Saturday to test long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons into the East Sea at an undisclosed location in North Korea, North Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. Photo by KCNA/UPI

May 5 (UPI) -- North Korea on Sunday acknowledged it tested multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons one day earlier in a "strike drill" to test their effectiveness.

On Saturday, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said neighboring North Korea fired numerous short-range "projectiles" into the East Sea. Earlier in the day, it said they were multiple short-range "missiles."

Despite the launches, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday "real progress" has been in denuclearization mainly because U.S. sanctions have been putting press on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to negotiate.

"We still believe there is a path forward where Chairman Kim can denuclearize without resort to anything beyond diplomacy," Pompeo said on CBS's Face the Nation.

Kim supervised the "strike drill of defense units in the forefront area and on the eastern front which took place in the East Sea of Korea on Saturday," the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, according to Yonhap News Agency in South Korea.

"The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance of large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defense units in the frontline area and on the eastern front," the KCNA said.

"And the combat performance of arms and equipment and to more powerfully arouse the entire army to the movement for becoming crackshots with the drill as an occasion and thus put it at combat readiness posture all the time."

Kim urged his troops to bear in mind "the iron truth that genuine peace and security are ensured and guaranteed only by powerful strength."

According to a photo released by the state-run media, Kim appeared to have watched the launches from an observatory at a location some distance away from the launch site.

In photos closer up, the projectiles appeared to be solid-fuel ballistic missiles similar to a Russian Iskander, Melissa Hanham, a non-proliferation expert and director of the One Earth Future Foundation's Datayo Project, told Bloomberg News.

"They did indeed test a new short-range missile, or as others call close-range ballistic missile, and this was not just an artillery drill," Nathan Hunt, an independent defense researcher, told Bloomberg News.

On Sunday, South Korea's defense ministry confirmed that the projectiles involved a new tactical guided weapon, and 240-mm and 300-mm multiple rocket launchers. The ministry updated the range of 43 to 149 miles from the longest distance of 124 miles.

The projectiles were fired between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. local time near the east coast town of Wonsan, the JCS said.

A satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. showed what appeared to be a single missile contrail at the exercise site.

South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are jointly analyzing the specific weapons' types and capabilities.

"Our military is keeping the firm defense readiness together with the U.S. while backing up the ongoing diplomatic efforts with intense strength," South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a release.

The launch of "tactical guided weapons" could be in violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution that bans the communist nation from all kinds of ballistic missile launches.

The distinction between "projectiles" and "missiles" could be a key in future talks between the United States and North Korea.

U.S. President Donald Trump has cited Kim's self-imposed freeze on missile and nuclear weapons tests to support his decision to continue talks with the the North Korean leader.

Trump walked away from a summit on nuclear dismantlement in February with Kim without reaching a deal.

North Korea wanted sanctions relief for partial denuclearization, but the United States refused to relax sanctions without complete denuclearization. Kim said last month that he would be willing to hold another summit with Trump if the United States changes its hard-line stance on sanctions relief.

North Korea: Multiple rocket launchers, tactical guided weapons tested - UPI.com

North Korea on Sunday acknowledged it tested multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons one day earlier in a "strike drill" to test their effectiveness.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

Trump, Moon exchange phone call on recent North Korea test
By Elizabeth Shim
MAY 7, 2019

May 7 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchanged a phone call on Tuesday regarding North Korea's recent launch of what analysts have said are short-range missiles.

In their first direct communication since their summit at the White House on April 11, Trump and Moon shared information on North Korea's projectiles and discussed ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap reported Tuesday.

"The leaders of South Korea and the United States discussed ways to improve the current situation on the Korean Peninsula after the April 11 summit," said presidential Blue House spokeswoman Ko Min-jung.

The South Korean presidential office also said the two sides spoke for about 35 minutes, from 10 p.m. to 10:35 p.m., Tuesday evening, local Seoul time.

The White House did not immediately issue a statement following the call.

In her statement, Ko also said there was a "mutual exchange of views" on the "North Korea launch vehicle."

The call comes at a time when the two countries are planning to cooperate on the recovery of Korean War remains.

KIA Recovery and Identification, or MAKRI, the South Korean defense ministry agency on remains recovery, is to conduct the excavation from Tuesday to Friday, Seoul Pyongyang News reported.

Five U.S. officials of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency are expected to joint the team in Korea, including John E. Byrd, the director for DPAA Laboratories.

The teams will be working at three sites near the border region of Paju, and other areas where U.S. troops clashed with enemy forces.

Trump, Moon exchange phone call on recent North Korea test - UPI.com

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchanged a phone call on Tuesday.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

Outcome of North Korea assassination case spurs anger, questions
By Elizabeth Shim
MAY 8, 2019

Doan Thi Huong leaves the airport after answering questions from media at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Friday. Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA-EFE


NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) -- The release of a Vietnamese woman convicted in the assassination of the half-brother of Kim Jong Un is inviting the fury of North Korean defectors who raise awareness of human rights abuses.

Jihyun Park, a North Korean refugee and activist based in Britain, told UPI by phone the release of Doan Thi Huong and others in the slaying of Kim Jong Nam, is another sign Pyongyang can continue to wield its abusive power with absolute impunity.

"I felt such rage that there is no such thing as justice," Park said.

Doan was freed Friday and was seen most recently grinning widely upon her arrival at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam. Although she and another defendant, Siti Aisyah, were the last people to be in direct contact with Kim Jong Nam, Doan appeared relaxed as she told reporters of her plans: to return to Malaysia, and become an actress.

Park said she was outraged upon hearing the comments.

"She was laughing," the defector said. "When I saw that, I felt rising anger.

"Even if you didn't know you murdered someone at the time, a person died, right? You should feel some level of responsibility."

Doan's release comes more than two years after she and Aisyah jumped on Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur international airport, dabbing his face with a toxic nerve agent.

Prosecutors initially suspected Doan and Aisyah were secretly aware they were participating in a North Korea assassination plot, but Malaysia police eventually ruled out the possibility.

Hoo Chiew-Ping, a professor at the National University of Malaysia, told UPI the women were found to have no idea they were dealing with North Korean agents, as the men trained them for what they later described as a "prank" for a TV show.

"Siti Aisyah, for instance, she couldn't even distinguish between North and South Korea," said the analyst, who has been closely monitoring the case. "They also thought the North Korean agents were Japanese or Taiwanese. These two female suspects did not know their identity."

The release of the suspects from Malaysian custody demonstrates the power of intramural diplomacy among member states of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations. It's also an indication of a change in Malaysia's political agenda since Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad assumed office in 2018.

Hoo said behind the scenes Malaysia and Indonesia likely agreed to release Aisyah due to "insufficient evidence."

The Vietnamese government also exercised some influence over Doan's trial, and decided to switch defense lawyers, a move they "renegotiated" with the Malaysian government.

The prisoners are being freed at a time when the Malaysian government is seeking a restoration of a more "traditional" foreign policy that reflects the national interest, Hoo said.

The analyst said that strategy entails Malaysia remaining "equidistant" between North and South Korea, a policy former Prime Minister Najib Razakdisregarded amid South Korea's "charm offensive" during a previous administration.

Razak's alleged preference for South Korea may have displeased the North. It was certainly a departure from traditional foreign policy, Hoo said.

"I believe that was the reason why the [North Korea] assassination was conducted in Malaysia," Hoo said.

ASEAN member states have historically friendly ties to North Korea, and many relations have survived the test of time.

Park, who survived a North Korean prison camp before fleeing the country, said a "blood alliance" prevails between Pyongyang and Hanoi.

North Korea deployed troops and fighter aircraft to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and the experience has survived the test of time and bonded the countries, Park said, adding Kim Jong Un could be seeking to revive those old ties while following the footsteps of biological grandfather Kim Il Sung.

The United States and South Korea continue to pin hopes on North Korea moving in the direction of denuclearization. Park said she is not optimistic.

"North Korea will absolutely not give up nuclear weapons," because they are a signature project of the North Korea founder, she said.

"The 'denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula' means something completely different from the 'denuclearization of North Korea'," Park said, referring to the official language used to describe current objectives.

The defector said the outside world understands the two concepts as interchangeable, when in fact, from North Korea's perspective, they are not. Pyongyang recently condemned Seoul and Washington for reduced-scale military exercises, calling the drills an act of betrayal.

"I wish people around the world knew the difference," Park said.

Outcome of North Korea assassination case spurs anger, questions - UPI.com

The release of a Vietnamese woman convicted in the assassination of the half-brother of Kim Jong Un is inviting the fury of North Korean defectors.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Missiles
May 09, 2019
William Gallo

People watch a TV showing a news program reporting North Korea's missile launch, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, May 5, 2019.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —
North Korea has fired what appears to be two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said Thursday. It was the second time Pyongyang fired missiles in less than a week.

One of the projectiles traveled 420 kilometers and the other traveled 270 kilometers, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles were launched from North Pyongan province in the country’s northwest and flew eastward, the statement added.

The province is home to a missile base at Sino-ri that houses the Nodong medium-range ballistic missile, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Beyond Parallel program.

At the White House Thursday, President Donald Trump said “nobody’s happy” about the development, adding that he doesn’t believe North Korea is ready to negotiate.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to refrain from firing missiles, which he said make diplomatic efforts for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula difficult.

In an interview with the South Korea’s KBS television network Thursday evening, Moon said that although firing short-range missiles does not constitute a violation of the inter-Korean military agreement, it definitely impedes ongoing talks and negotiations.

Earlier Thursday, Moon’s office expressed serious concerns about the North Korean missile launches, saying that such action was detrimental to efforts of improving inter-Korean relations and ease military tensions on the peninsula.

South Korean officials say Seoul has increased security preparations in case of additional launches.

Sino-ri missile base, North Korea

Recent tests
North Korea on Saturday tested what analysts described as a short-range ballistic missile. Before that, Kim had not tested a ballistic missile since November 2017.

FILE - U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun arrives at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Feb. 3, 2019.

The latest launches come as Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, meets South Korean officials in Seoul.

The tests threaten to further upend nuclear talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump.

Last April, Kim announced he would suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. The self-imposed moratorium was never formalized but has helped facilitate the two summits between Trump and Kim.

North Korean state media Wednesday characterized the Saturday launch as “self-defensive” and “nothing more than part of the regular military training.”

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un supervises a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapon into the East Sea during a military drill, May 4, 2019

Testing US limits
After that launch, analysts said they expected North Korea to continue to test weapons as a show of frustration at the stalled nuclear talks.

“The North Koreans are testing the U.S. response. They’re trying to find out where the ceiling is, in terms of U.S. tolerance for provocations,” said Scott Snyder at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It would appear that following these tests that the North Koreans may decide that they haven’t hit the ceiling.”

For a year, Trump has said talks with Kim are progressing. As evidence, he has cited a lack of nuclear and missile tests.
Kim wants the U.S. to relax sanctions in exchange for steps to dismantle his nuclear program. Trump says he will not ease sanctions until Kim commits to abandoning his whole nuclear arsenal.

North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Missiles

Moon warns the North that firing missiles makes diplomacy difficult

www.voanews.com