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North Korea test-fires new type of short-range ballistic missiles — media

On Thursday morning, North Korea conducted launches of two short-range missiles off the country’s east coast and into the Sea of Japan

© AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, archive

TOKYO, July 26. /TASS/. Two projectiles, which were test fired by North Korea on Thursday, were an upgraded type of KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Friday.

North Korea conducted on Thursday morning launches of two short-range missiles off the country’s east coast and into the Sea of Japan.

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The Japanese news agency reported citing data from the South Korean presidential office that after the detailed analysis of the missile launches the National Security Council drew a conclusion that the test-launched projectiles were "a new type of short-range ballistic missile."

North Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA) announced earlier that DPRK leader Kim Jong-un "guided the power demonstration fire of a new-type tactical guided weapon Thursday."

KCNA reported that the launches of missiles were "a solemn warning to the south Korean military warmongers who are running high fever in their moves to introduce the ultramodern offensive weapons into South Korea and hold military exercise in defiance of the repeated warnings from the DPRK."

North Korea’s missile tests come less than a month following a meeting between President of the United States Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

US President Trump visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea during his visit to South Korea on June 30 and this was when he had a meeting with Kim Jong-un. Trump became the first incumbent US president to set foot on North Korea’s soil. The talks between the US president and the North Korean leader lasted for about an hour.

One of the major outcomes of Trump’s visit to the DMZ was an agreement between the US and North Korea to resume working-level talks on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula within the next two or three weeks.

Commenting on North Korea’s missile launches US President Trump said in an interview with Fox News television channel that he was getting along with Kim Jong-un "very well."

"They haven't done nuclear testing. They really haven't tested missiles other than you know smaller ones," US President Trump was cited as saying.

Japan’s news agency Kyodo reported earlier in the day citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff that the two missiles "were launched from near the Hodo Peninsula, with the first flying about 430 kilometers and the second about 690 km before falling into the sea.".

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