U.S. President Donald Trump landed in South Korea on Wednesday for the final leg of his Asia trip, shortly after North Korea test-fired a series of sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, raising tensions ahead of key regional meetings.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the launches took place on Tuesday in the Yellow Sea, with the missiles flying for more than two hours before accurately striking their targets.
Top military official Pak Jong Chon oversaw the test, describing it as an “important success” in strengthening the country’s nuclear deterrent capabilities. He said the exercise was intended to assess the “reliability of different strategic offensive means” and to demonstrate North Korea’s military readiness to its “enemies.”
“It is our responsible mission and duty to ceaselessly toughen the nuclear combat posture,” Pak stated, according to KCNA.
Seoul and Washington on Alert
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that their military had detected the missile launch preparations and tracked the test, which occurred around 3 p.m. local time (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries said they were jointly analysing the missiles and maintaining a “dominant response” readiness against any North Korean provocations.
The missile tests come days after North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles featuring a new hypersonic system, also described by Pyongyang as part of efforts to boost its nuclear deterrent.
Trump’s visit aims to strengthen trade
Arriving from Tokyo, Trump began the final stop of his Asia tour optimistic about reaching a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is also scheduled to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Gyeongju, the historic city hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.
Trump is expected to address a summit of CEOs and discuss regional defense, economic cooperation, and stability in the Korean Peninsula.
Hopes of Trump-Kim meeting remain dim
Despite speculation, South Korean officials have downplayed the possibility of a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit.
While Kim has said he holds “fond memories” of Trump, he has also made it clear that talks can only resume if Washington abandons its demand for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme.
Since the collapse of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy between Trump and Kim in 2019, North Korea has rejected any dialogue with both Washington and Seoul, focusing instead on advancing its weapons capabilities.
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