North Korea launches short-range missiles

North Korea fired two short-range missiles into the sea early Thursday, marking the first missile test since the country agreed to resume talks with the United States. The two missiles were fired near the coastal city of Wonsan and flew about 267 miles and 428 miles, respectively, before landing in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. “Our military is closely monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture,” the statement said. South Korea’s presidential Blue House later that day described the weapons as “a new kind of short-range ballistic missiles.”

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met this month at the border village of Panmunjom and pledged to revive denuclearization talks. But last week, North Korea condemned the joint summertime military drills between the United States and South Korea as a “violation of the spirit” of Trump and Kim’s agreement at their first summit in Singapore last year. North Korea hinted last week it may lift its 20-month moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing if the drills continue.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyunso urged North Korea to cease actions that are “not helpful to efforts to ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”