North Korea announced on Wednesday that it had launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, showcasing its increasing military prowess as U.S. President Donald Trump visits South Korea for a regional summit. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the missiles, fired on Tuesday, successfully hit their targets after flying for more than two hours. The agency stated that these missiles would enhance the operational range of North Korea’s nuclear-armed military.
According to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, the military detected the launch preparations, and the cruise missiles were launched in North Korea’s northwestern waters around 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday. South Korea, in coordination with the United States, is analyzing the missiles and maintaining a joint defense readiness to respond dominantly to any provocation from North Korea.
The North Korean report was released just before an anticipated summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju, where this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings are being hosted. The tests were overseen by senior military official Pak Jong Chon, who also supervised sailor training on North Korea’s newly developed destroyers, Choe Hyon and Kang Kon, which Kim Jong-un considers crucial assets for enhancing the navy.
These recent missile launches by North Korea follow last week’s tests of short-range ballistic missiles, which the country claimed involved a new hypersonic system aimed at bolstering its nuclear deterrence capabilities.
While Trump has shown interest in meeting with Kim during his South Korea visit, where he is scheduled to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean officials believe a Trump-Kim meeting is improbable. North Korea has refrained from engaging in talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s nuclear diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019.
Kim’s current foreign policy priority is Russia, as he has been actively supporting President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine by deploying troops and military equipment. Kim has embraced the concept of a “new Cold War” and positioned North Korea as part of a united front against the Western-led by the U.S. In a recent statement, Kim reiterated that North Korea would not return to negotiations with the U.S. unless Washington abandons its demand for denuclearization, despite Trump’s repeated calls for renewed diplomacy.