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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday saw the demonstration of a "new type of tactical weapon" to warn South Korea to stop importing high-tech weapons and conduct joint military exercises. with the United States, KCNA state media said Friday.
North Korea on Thursday launched two new short-range ballistic missiles, South Korean officials said, its first test since Kim and US President Donald Trump decided to restart negotiations on denuclearization last month.
Joint Chiefs of Staff of Seoul (JCS) said the two missiles were launched just after Dawn of Wonsan on the east coast. The two missiles launched Thursday by North Korea have traveled some 600 km, said an official of the South Korean Ministry of Defense, citing a joint badessment of launches with the United States.
The KCNA report does not mention Trump or the United States, but says that Kim has criticized the South Korean authorities for conducting joint exercises, usually conducted with US troops.
"We can only develop ultra-powerful non-stop weapons systems to eliminate the direct and potential threats to the security of our country that exist in the South," Kim said, according to KCNA.
He accused the South Koreans of "double playing" for declaring that they supported peace but at the same time importing new weapons and conducting military exercises.
Nearly 30,000 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea and their annual maneuvers with South Korean soldiers angered Pyongyang.
& # 39; Increasing sophistication & # 39;
The South Korean leader should put an end to such "suicidal acts" and "should not err by ignoring the warning," Kim said.
Kim said he was satisfied with the reactivity of the weapon and its trajectory at low altitude, which he said would make interception difficult.
Seoul's National Security Council said on Thursday that it thought the missiles were a new type of ballistic missile, but that it would conduct a final badessment with the United States.
Ballistic missile testing would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions banning the use of this technology by North Korea. North Korea rejects the restriction as a violation of its right of self-defense.
A Seoul report, Rob Mcbride of Al Jazeera, said there was "increasing sophistication" in the North Korean missile system.
"An official of the South Korean Ministry of Defense said [new missile] is based on Russian missiles. This has the ability to be pre-programmed to change course and direction in mid-flight, "said Mcbride.
"There are now concerns in South Korea and Japan, because it makes them even more difficult to intercept with the existing anti-missile system."
& # 39; Provocations & # 39;
South Korea, which had supported North Korea and US efforts to end years of hostility, on Thursday called on Pyongyang to end acts that are of no help to relieve tensions and said that these tests constituted a military threat.
The US State Department asked Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations and said it was still hoping for a resumption of negotiations at an operational level on the denuclearization of North Korea.
"We no longer demand provocations and call on all parties to respect their obligations under the UN Security Council Resolutions", said the spokeswoman of the US State Department, Morgan Ortagus.
Asked about the Trump administration's message about North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News: "I made two commitments. "
"First, he said that he would commit to no nuclear test and that he would continue to avoid launching mid-range and long-range ballistic missiles.
"He also said that he would put his trading team back into the game, that we would have another round of negotiations, and we are working in that direction."
Pyongyang made similar short-term launches in May, which Trump called "very clbadic stuff" that would have no impact on his relationship with Kim.
Thursday's launches took place one day after John Bolton, US National Security Advisor – an arch-male hawk regularly criticized by North Korean state media – spoke to senior South Korean officials. Korean in Seoul.
On Tuesday, the state-run KCNA news agency reported that Kim was inspecting a newly constructed large submarine, accompanied by missile program officials. It potentially signaled the further development of a ballistic missile program launched by submarines.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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