N Korea fired barrage of missiles toward sea: Seoul - Taipei Times

North Korea yesterday launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea, South Korea's military said, a day after Pyongyang shrugged off a US decision to scale back military drills with Seoul in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.

About 10 short-range ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea's capital region at about 5pm, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The missiles flew about 300km each toward North Korea's eastern waters, it added.

Photo: AP

South Korea has bolstered its surveillance posture and was closely coordinating information on the launches with the US and Japan, the military said.

South Korea's presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to halt ballistic missile launches.

US President Donald Trump earlier ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, just before they began on Monday.

Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea's refusal to support him over the war in Iran.

On Wednesday, the South Korean and US militaries confirmed they shortened the 11-day drills by shortening their duration by about half and canceling some field training exercises. The reduction of the exercises raised worries about the allies' joint defense posture.

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea's leader, dismissed Trump's overture, saying: "The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced."

"If the US calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as the one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer," she said.

She denied Trump's claim that Kim Jong-un had responded to his request for a conversation, but said personal relations between her brother and Trump are "still excellent." That signals North Korea would want to wait for Trump to make bigger concessions before returning to talks.

Asked by reporters if he would be meeting with Kim Jong-un this year, Trump said: "Yeah, I will be."

The Ulchi Freedom Shield is one of the main military exercises conducted by the US and South Korea annually to enhance their ability to cope with potential North Korean aggression.

Washington and Seoul say their drills are defensive in nature, but Pyongyang calls them an invasion rehearsal and often reacts with weapons tests.

Meanwhile, South Korea sought China's support in reviving talks with North Korea.

South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun called for China to play a constructive role in facilitating North Korea's swift return to dialogue during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi (王毅), in Seoul.

Asked whether Beijing might help mediate a summit between Trump and Kim, Wang said it is a matter for the two sides to decide.

Wang also urged South Korea not to take sides between Beijing and Washington.

"The fundamental solution to the tensions on the Korean Peninsula lies in addressing the root causes of the problem and urging the United States to abandon its hostile policy toward North Korea," the Xinhua news agency cited Wang as saying.

China hopes South Korea will "achieve genuine strategic autonomy, refrain from bloc confrontation and taking sides, and develop relations with major powers including China and the United States in parallel and without contradiction," he said.

"China would be glad to see the peninsula move toward peaceful coexistence between South Korea and North Korea," Wang said, calling for a restart of dialogue and restoration of trust.

He urged Seoul to adhere to a friendly policy toward China, saying bilateral ties had "fully recovered" and made positive progress this year.

"A rational, pragmatic, and positive policy towards China is entirely in line with South Korea's interests and the trend of the times," he said.

Wang also called for an early completion of second-stage talks with South Korea for a free trade agreement, saying the two countries should promote regional economic integration amid intensifying fragmentation in the global economy and rising trade protectionism, Xinhua reported.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg