North Korea appears to be continuing its series of missile tests, which began a few weeks ago. The South Korean army said in a statement on Tuesday (October 19) that an unidentified projectile was launched by the neighboring country into the sea east of the peninsula, without providing further details.
The nuclear-armed North Korea recently carried out several weapons tests, including a long-range missile, a weapon fired from a train, and a missile touted as hypersonic by Pyongyang.
During the reign of Kim Jong-un, North Korea has strengthened its military arsenal and made immense progress despite international sanctions taken due to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Last week, the North Korean leader blamed Washington for these tensions, saying the United States was the “Root cause” instability in the Korean Peninsula. There is no reason “To believe that they are not hostile” , he said.
New Washington call for talks
The new shot comes as Sung Kim, current US President Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea, has called for talks with Pyongyang.
“We will continue the diplomatic path with North Korea in order to make tangible progress that will improve the security of the United States and our allies”Sung Kim said Monday after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Noh Kyu-duk in Washington.
In 2018, Kim Jong-un was the first North Korean leader to meet with a sitting US president. But discussions have stalled since the second summit with Donald Trump in Hanoi in 2019, which failed on the relief of international sanctions and on the gestures Pyongyang was prepared to concede in return.
Washington has repeatedly reiterated its willingness to meet with North Korean officials anytime and anywhere, without preconditions.