In its last test, North Korea fired a barrage of missiles into the sea on August 20, despite an overture from US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year.
That launch from the nuclear-armed north came as South Korea and the United States held a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, after an order from Trump to scale them back.
Trump’s order alarmed US allies in the region, with the President calling the drills “inappropriate and hostile” towards North Korea.
But Seoul’s spy agency told lawmakers this month that a summit between the US and North Korea appeared possible “at any time” as signs have emerged of dialogue between them.
Trump met Kim three times during his first term – once declaring they were “in love” – in high-profile summits aimed at securing a denuclearisation deal, but no tangible progress was made.
Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.
– AFP
