North Korea Missile Test Coincides with Trump’s Visit; South Korea Responds

Following the cruise missile tests carried out by North Korea at the same time as Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea, the Chief of Staff of the South Korean military reacted to the move.

According to Al Jazeera, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday that these missiles, launched into the Yellow Sea, flew for more than two hours and accurately struck their designated targets. Pak Jong Chon, a senior North Korean military official overseeing the test, stated that the exercise represented a significant achievement in the development of North Korea’s nuclear power as a war deterrent.

He further emphasized that the test aimed to assess reliance on strategic offensive tools and the impact of their capabilities on adversaries.

In this regard, the Chief of Staff of the South Korean military announced on Wednesday that South Korea’s armed forces had monitored and identified the missile launches from North Korea, with several cruise missiles fired into the northwestern waters of the country around 3 p.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday.

According to Rokna, citing Al Jazeera, South Korean officials indicated it is unlikely that a meeting will take place between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea.

The South Korean Chief of Staff added that South Korea and the United States are assessing weapons systems and maintaining combined defensive readiness in order to provide a robust response to any provocative actions by North Korea.

It is noteworthy that this North Korean missile test follows a recent test last week in which the country launched a short-range ballistic missile, claiming that it involved a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent capabilities.