North Korea tests missile ahead of US talks
Various sources in Seoul and Tokyo have said North Korea carried out the test launch of several short-range projectiles on Wednesday. One of the projectiles even fell within waters belonging to Japan's exclusive economic zone, the sources said. Local media reports claim the projectiles, which the Japanese government said may have been ballistic missiles, were fired off from the eastern city of Wonsan.
The JCS – as quoted by local news agency Yonhap – did not provide any details about the type, trajectory or range of the projectiles.
This new test was also confirmed by official Japanese sources.
Yoshihide Suga, a spokesperson for the Japanese government, told reporters that at least two projectiles (which appeared to be ballistic missiles) were fired and that one of them fell within Japan's EEZ, off the coast of the southwestern Shimane prefecture.
The first projectile, according to Suga, was launched at 7.17 am local time, while the one that reached the EEZ was fired 10 minutes later.
These latest tests came a day after Pyongyang announced it would soon resume talks with the US on the Korean Peninsula's denuclearisation.
A senior North Korean official said that negotiations would kick off again on Saturday following preliminary diplomatic contacts on Friday, though she failed to specify the planned location for these talks.
The resumption of negotiations – which are set to be held at a technical level – was agreed by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit at the North Korea-South Korea border held on June 30.
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