SEOUL: North Korea fired several ballistic missiles from its capital Pyongyang towards the sea off its east coast at around 7.50 am local time on Sunday (Jan 4), South Korea‘s military said.
The first launch of North Korea’s ballistic missiles in two months comes as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will make a state visit to China starting on Sunday, where Seoul has said peace on the Korean peninsula would be discussed.
“Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for further launches,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, saying it is closely sharing information with the United States and Japan.
The missiles are believed to have already fallen, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
The last time Pyongyang tested its ballistic missile was in November.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for more than double the production capacity of tactical guided weapons on his latest visit to a munitions factory on Saturday, North Korea‘s state media reported.
In recent weeks, Kim has made a series of visits to factories that build weapons, as well as to a nuclear-powered submarine, and has overseen missile tests ahead of this year’s Ninth Party Congress of the Workers’ Party to set out major policy goals.
China’s President Xi Jinping will host Lee on a state visit starting on Sunday.
Wi Sung-lac, Lee’s security adviser, said Seoul expects Beijing to play a role in promoting peace on the Korean peninsula, without elaborating on details of the summit agenda.
Lee’s agenda with Xi includes persuading China to facilitate dialogue with North Korea, experts said, at a time when North Korea has dismissed Lee’s outreach.
In their November talks, Lee already asked Xi to make greater efforts to persuade North Korea to return to talks.
Wi added that during Monday’s summit, Lee and Xi are to hold “in-depth talks on substantive ways” to address security and economic issues facing the two countries.
Ahead of his trip, Lee gave an interview to China’s state broadcaster CCTV in which he said that he hoped people would understand that his government cares about the relations between Beijing and Seoul.
Lee said Seoul’s cooperation with the US, its military ally, does not mean South Korea-China relations should move toward confrontation, CCTV reported. He acknowledged that past misunderstandings between his country and China had hindered bilateral relations.
“This visit to China aims to minimise or eliminate these past misunderstandings or contradictions, to elevate and develop South Korea-China relations to a new stage,” CCTV quoted him as saying.
Source: CNA
