North Korea Fires More Projectiles After Skipping Pompeo Talks

(Bloomberg) -- North Korea fired off more unidentified projectiles into its eastern sea, South Korea said, after the country skipped a chance at talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Michael Pompeo.

The projectiles were launched early Friday from the coastal area of Yonghung, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, near where two short-range ballistic missiles were launched Wednesday. The tests began shortly before 3 a.m. local time, the third such provocation in eight days.

“We are monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture,” the Joint Chiefs said. Japan said the launches didn’t enter its exclusive economic zone and had no impact on national security.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is escalating weapons tests to signal frustration with the U.S. after more than a year of dramatic, but largely fruitless nuclear talks with President Donald Trump. The two sides still haven’t resumed a working-level dialogue announced during a historic June 30 meeting at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and Kim held back senior envoys from a regional conference attended by Pompeo this week.

Fifth Round

Friday’s event represents North Korea’s fifth such round of launches since he broke a 17-month freeze on major weapons tests in May. The Trump administration has shown a desire to keep the tests from disrupting talks, emphasizing that Kim has still kept his pledge not to detonate nuclear bombs or test larger missiles that could deliver them to the U.S. mainland.

“I think it’s very much under control,” Trump told reporters when asked about the launch en route to campaign event. “Very much under control.”

On Thursday, Pompeo acknowledged that he wouldn’t meet North Korean representatives at Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Bangkok, where he was accompanied by U.S. nuclear envoy, Stephen Biegun. North Korea sent its local ambassador to the event, its lowest-level delegation in a decade.

“We stand ready to continue our diplomatic conversation with the North Koreans,” Pompeo said. “Looks like I’m not going to have an opportunity to do that while I’m here in Bangkok.”

Even short-range ballistic missile launches violate United Nations sanctions and threaten American troops in South Korea. France, Germany and the U.K. condemned the violations in statement Thursday at the UN, reaffirming the need to maintain trade restrictions on the country.

“Serious efforts by North Korea to re-engage diplomatically and make progress on denuclearization are the best way to guarantee security and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as a brighter future for the people of North Korea,” the countries said.

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Peter Pae

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.