North Korea test-fires cruise missiles ahead of Trump’s South Korea visit

North Korea test-fires cruise missiles ahead of Trump’s South Korea visit. (Photo/Reuters)

North Korea announced on Wednesday that it test-fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Tuesday’s missile test came after Trump expressed his wish to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to the South from October 29-30 for the APEC meetings.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the cruise missiles, which have been modified for ship-based launches, were fired vertically and flew for more than 7,800 seconds along a designated route above the Yellow Sea to hit their target.

KCNA did not provide further details, such as how far the missiles travelled.

Kim did not oversee the test firing.

Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said the country had made significant progress in putting the country's nuclear forces on a "practical basis."

“It is an extension of exercising the war deterrent and an act of exercising it in a more responsible manner to continuously test the reliability of different strategic offensive means and impress their abilities upon the enemies,” Pak said while overseeing the test.

He called for the need to steadily update North Korea's combat capability, saying that “it is our responsible mission and duty to ceaselessly toughen the nuclear combat posture.”

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile launch was detected at 3 pm the day before, noting that South Korean and US intelligence agencies are currently analyzing the specific details, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Our military is maintaining a full readiness posture to respond overwhelmingly to any North Korean provocation, while closely monitoring the North's various movements under the firm combined defence posture with the United States," it said.

The missile launch occurred while North Korea remained silent regarding Trump's proposal for talks, fueling speculation that a meeting between Kim and Trump may be unlikely.

This marked the North's first cruise missile launch in five months.

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Source: TRT