North Korea fires suspected missiles, dismissing Seoul’s diplomacy hopes

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - SEOUL — North Korea test-fired suspected short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, just days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over an incident involving drones that crossed the border into the North’s airspace.
Pyongyang launched the missiles from near Wonsan toward waters off its east coast, South Korea’s military said. South Korea’s national security council held an emergency meeting and urged North Korea to stop acts that violate UN Security Council resolutions.
The launch took place days after a North Korean statement conveyed leader Kim Jong Un’s rare praise for Lee in response to his apology over the drones. Seoul touted the messages exchanged by the two leaders as a “meaningful step forward” for their peaceful coexistence.
South Korea’s military separately said it had detected the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area in North Korea on Tuesday.
According to ‌South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing military officials, the ‌projectile ⁠launched on Tuesday ⁠flew eastward before showing signs of an abnormality in the early stage of flight and disappearing.
South Korea typically announces North Korean ballistic missile launches promptly, as such tests violate UN Security Council resolutions, while it tends to be more ⁠cautious when projectiles are believed to be conventional weapons or ‌cruise missiles.
North Korea rejects the UN ban and ‌says it infringes its sovereign right to self-defense.
The disclosure of the latest launches ‌came after a statement by a top North Korean official that made ‌clear that Pyongyang saw no shift in its hostile stance toward Seoul despite hopes of a thaw in relations.
Jang Kum Chol, a senior official at North Korea’s foreign ministry, said the South was engaging in wishful thinking if it thought Pyongyang was ready to ‌see Seoul as anything other than an enemy.
“The identity of the ROK, the enemy state most hostile to the DPRK, ⁠can never ⁠change with any words or conduct,” Jang was quoted as saying by state media KCNA late on Tuesday, using the formal acronyms for the names of South and North Korea.
The comments came after North Korea said on Monday it was “very fortunate and wise” for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to convey regret to Pyongyang for drone incursions earlier this year.
Some in Seoul saw the statement as a rare act of conciliation from the nuclear-armed North after decades of hostility. The two nations remain technically at war after their 1950-1953 conflict ended in a truce.
But Jang said the statement issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong amounted to a warning to Seoul, and dismissed interpretations that it reflected friendly intentions. — Agencies