SEOUL – North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, according to Seoul's military, breaking a months-long pause in provocations just one week before world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are scheduled to gather in South Korea for a major summit.
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| People at a train station in Seoul watch footage of a North Korean missile test (Jung Yeon-je) |
Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that it had "detected several projectiles, believed to be short-range ballistic missiles."
The missiles were fired at approximately 8:10 AM local time (2310 GMT Tuesday) from an area south of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The projectiles flew for around 350 kilometers (217 miles) before landing, the JCS added.
The launch is the first of its kind since South Korean President Lee Jae-myung took office in June and appears to be a pointed political message timed to precede the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Seoul.
President Trump, who is expected to arrive for the summit on October 29, has recently stated he hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, possibly this year, reviving memories of the high-profile summits held during his first term.
A 'Response to Trump'
Analysts immediately interpreted the launch as a deliberate move by Pyongyang to command attention and build leverage ahead of the high-level diplomatic event.
"The launch was a response to Trump and his recent moves," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul's Ewha Womans University.
He added that Kim Jong Un is also "asserting his regime's presence during an event hosted by Seoul, as he's done before," ensuring that North Korea's security concerns are impossible to ignore as regional leaders convene.
Stalled Diplomacy and Conditions for Talks
The provocation comes amid complex signaling from Pyongyang regarding future diplomacy.
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump met three times during the Republican president's first term, but talks famously collapsed in Hanoi in 2019. The negotiations broke down over disagreements on what concessions Pyongyang was willing to make in exchange for sanctions relief, with the US demanding the complete dismantlement of the North's nuclear arsenal.
That demand remains the central sticking point. North Korea's state media has recently indicated that Kim is open to future talks but has set firm conditions, insisting the United States must first give up its "delusional" demand that Pyongyang relinquish its nuclear weapons.
In September, Kim was quoted by state media as having "fond memories" of his talks with Trump and being open to another meeting.
"If the United States discards its delusional obsession with denuclearisation and, based on recognising reality, truly wishes for peaceful coexistence with us, then there is no reason we cannot meet it," Kim stated.
Pyongyang's Growing Arsenal
Despite any rhetorical openness to dialogue, North Korea has continued to aggressively advance its banned weapons programs, which are subject to successive rafts of United Nations sanctions.
This month, Pyongyang showcased what it called its "most powerful" intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the new Hwasong-20, at a major military parade. The event was notably attended by top officials from Russia and China, signaling strengthening ties between the three nations. North Korean state media has boasted that the strike range of the Hwasong-20 "knows no bounds" and is capable of reaching the continental United States.
Furthermore, in September, Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the ninth and final test of a solid-fuel engine designed for long-range nuclear missiles. This development indicated to experts that a full test-fire of the new ICBM could be conducted in the coming months.
Wednesday's short-range missile launch serves as a reminder that while Pyongyang may talk of diplomacy, it has no intention of giving up its arsenal, which it views as essential to its survival.