LAST UPDATE | 4 May 2019
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has voiced confidence that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would not “break his promise,” after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea.
“Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it,” Trump tweeted.
“He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!” added the US president.
The tweets were response to what could be Pyongyang’s first short-range missile launch for more than a year.
It is thought to be the first missiles launched since 2017 and comes after a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump failed to go ahead in February.
The United States and North Korea have been at loggerheads since then, when both sides clashed over sanctions and the extent to which Pyongyang’s concessions on its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea “fired a number of short-range projectiles from its Hodo peninsula, near the east coast town of Wonsan, to the northeastern direction from 9.06am to 9.27am today,” South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.
The projectiles travelled from 70km to 200km towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the military chiefs added.
In 2017, North Korea launched a number of nuclear missiles, including one that flew over Japan and landed in the sea off Hokkaido.
US president Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June – the first meeting between leaders from both countries – amid growing tensions.
Following that meeting, Trump said Kim Jung Un had agreed to begin denuclearisation in exchange for lifting sanctions the US had imposed.
The latest firing comes just a day after South Korea’s foreign minister said Pyongyang should show “visible, concrete and substantial” denuclearisation action if it wants sanctions relief.
Norther Korea’s vice foreign minister warned Washington of an “unwanted outcome” if it did not adjust its stance on economic sanctions, earlier this week.
The sanctions concern trade between the countries, including the importing of crude oil. coal and petroleum from North Korea.
White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said the US was “aware of North Korea’s actions” and “will continue to monitor as necessary”.
Japan’s defence ministry said there was “no confirmation of ballistic missiles entering its territory.
Last month, Russian president Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un met for a summit, where the North Korean leader said he was willing to move to complete denuclearistion but only if he got ironclad security guarantees.
With reporting from AFP. © AFP 2019
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