North Korea on Saturday launched three ballistic missiles into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula, United States military officials said, dispelling President Donald Trump’s indication that a deal could be struck with Pyongyang to contain its rapidly expanding nuclear weapons programme.
The US Pacific Command said the missiles appeared to be short-range. The first and second missiles “failed in flight” and the third “appears to have blown up almost immediately”.
It said the North American Aerospace Defence Command determined the missile launches did not pose a threat to Guam, which the North previously warned it would target if provoked.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump has been briefed and “we are monitoring the situation.”
North Korea last month fired intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, triggering heightened rhetoric from both the sides.
Trump had warned of “fire and fury” and ramped up his rhetoric days later, saying “maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough”.
But the US president this week indicated that a deal could be struck with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. His comments had come soon after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the North’s regime has demonstrated some level of restraint in recent days, “that we’ve not seen in the past”.
Tillerson had hoped that this could be the beginning of the signal from Pyongyang the US had been looking for.
Saturday’s missiles launches, though failed, reignite the possibility of increasing tensions in the peninsula.
They come during a joint military exercise between the US and South Korea. The two countries say the annual military exercise is defensive but Pyongyang condemns it as hostile, and even as a rehearsal for invasion.
In response to the ICBM launches in July, the UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on August 5.
Image: A North Korean soldier salutes to his senior soldier. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
