Post by : Meena Ariff

North Korea has fired several cruise missiles from the sea into its western waters, just hours before United States President Donald Trump started his visit to South Korea.

According to officials, the missiles were launched from the Yellow Sea on Tuesday afternoon. They flew for more than two hours and hit their targets with accuracy. A top North Korean military leader, Pak Jong Chon, watched the test and said it showed “important progress” in building the country’s nuclear strength to protect itself from enemies.

Pak said that North Korea’s goal was to test how reliable its new strategic weapons were and to show other countries that its military power was growing. He also said it was North Korea’s “duty” to keep improving its nuclear weapons for defense.

South Korea’s military said it had detected signs of the missile launch before it happened. The missiles were fired at about 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday. South Korea and the United States are now studying the weapons closely and say they are ready to respond strongly to any provocation from the North.

This missile test came just a few days after North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles, which it claimed were part of a new hypersonic weapon system meant to strengthen its nuclear defense.

The latest test took place just before President Trump’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju. South Korea is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings this year, and world leaders have gathered there for talks. Trump is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit.

There were rumors that Trump might meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while in South Korea, but South Korean officials said such a meeting is unlikely.

Kim Jong Un has said that he still remembers his earlier meetings with Trump fondly. However, he made it clear that he would only agree to new talks if the United States stops demanding that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea has avoided any discussions with the United States and South Korea since 2019, when talks between Trump and Kim broke down without an agreement.

Before arriving in South Korea, President Trump visited Japan, where he met families of Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago. Trump told them that the United States would continue to support their efforts to find their missing relatives.

North Korea admitted in 2002 that its agents had kidnapped several Japanese citizens to train spies in Japanese language and customs. Japan believes that 17 people were abducted, five of whom have returned home. North Korea said that some of the others had died, while a few never entered the country.

#Global News