North Korea fires missiles as US envoy visits Seoul

SEOUL: North Korea welcomed a US envoy's visit to Seoul by firing two missiles Thursday, the South's military said, in Pyongyang's second launch in less than a week as it seeks to up the ante in deadlocked nuclear negotiations with Washington.It came after North Korea carried out a military drill and fired multiple projectiles on Saturday, with at least one believed to be a short-range missile.The North had not previously fired a missile since November 2017, shortly before a rapid diplomatic thaw eased high tensions on the peninsula and paved the way for a historic first meeting between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.But their second summit in Vietnam in February broke up without an agreement rolling back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief or even a joint statement, leaving the North frustrated.Thursday's launch came hours after the US Special Representative on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, arrived in Seoul late Wednesday for talks with South Korean officials, in his first visit since the Hanoi summit.South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Pyongyang's latest move had "an element of protest and is a pressuring action to steer the nuclear talks in a direction it desires". "It appears the North is highly displeased that the Hanoi summit ended without agreement," he said in an interview marking his first two years in office.But he added: "Whatever North Korea's intentions might have been, we warn that it could make negotiations more difficult." The North "fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles" from Kusong in North Pyongan province, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement, updating its earlier assessment that the launch was from Sino-ri in the same province.The JCS added the missiles flew eastwards for 270 and 420 kilometres (170 and 260 miles) and the South Korean and US militaries were jointly analysing them.Biegun met his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon for breakfast on Thursday and is due to hold discussions with the South's foreign and unification ministers Friday as the security allies -- Washington stations 28,500 troops in the South to defend it from its neighbour -- work on their approach towards Pyongyang.With Thursday's launch, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification, "North Korea is sending a clear message that it will not be satisfied with humanitarian aid" being considered by Seoul.

from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2Wzbi0n