Friday, 10/05/2019 17:58 (GMT+7)
In an announcement on May 9th, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn affirmed that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two suspected short-range missiles.
A new missile tested by the DPRK (Photo: AFP/VNA)
The missiles were launched from Kusong in DPRK’s northwest, at 4:29 p.m. and 4:49 p.m. local time, and flew eastward, reaching flight ranges of 420 kilometers and 270 kilometers respectively.
The missiles had an altitude of around 50 kilometers and landed in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said: “We’re aware of the reports and monitoring.”
The launches came as US special envoy for the DPRK Stephen Biegun was in the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s capital for talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and his counterpart, nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon.
RoK’s President Moon Jae-in said the tests seemed to be a protest by the DPRK after its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump failed to reach agreement on the DPRK's nuclear weapons and missile arsenal at the summit in Hanoi in February.
After Thursday's launch, RoK’s military said it had stepped up monitoring and security in case of another launch, and was working with the US to get additional information on the missiles involved.
RoK’s presidential Blue House called the missile launches "very worrisome" and unhelpful for efforts to reduce tensions on the peninsula and improve Korean relations amid protracted talks on denuclearization.
President Donald Trump said Thursday the US was looking very seriously at DPRK's latest missile launch.
The US president added that although the DPRK wants to negotiate, he does not think that "they're ready to negotiate."/.
Compiled by BTA