The Latest on North Korea firing short-range missiles into the sea (all times local):

Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya says North Korea's missile test launches are probably a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Iwaya told reporters Japan is still analyzing what type of missiles North Korea fired into the sea early Thursday. South Korea's military says they were two short-range missiles, leading some observers to suggest they were not a major provocation but rather the North's warning of what may happen if the nuclear negotiations with the U.S. fail.

Iwaya says, "If they were ballistic missiles, they violate the U.N. sanctions, and I find it extremely regrettable."

Japan's Defense Ministry says it has not found any flying objects reaching the Japanese territory or its 200-mile exclusive economic zone from the North Korean launch of two short-range missiles.

The ministry has not detected signs that Thursday morning's missile launches posed any immediate threat to Japan's national security.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the missiles fired from around the North's eastern coastal town of Wonsan flew about 430 kilometers (270 miles) before landing in the waters off the country's east coast.

South Korea says North Korea has launched two identified projectiles into the sea off its east coast.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile launch came from an area near the eastern city of Wonsan on Thursday.

It said the projectiles flew 430 kilometers. </s> South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that two missiles were fired by their North Korean neighbors.

The ministers added that the projectiles originated from near the east coast city of Wonsan and went in excess of 430 kilometers (267 miles) before landing in the sea off its east coast.

The reported firing comes as US and North Korean officials work to restart nuclear talks, and as the North has also sharply criticized planned joint military drills between US and South Korean troops. The country had warned it might resume missile tests in protest at the drills, which it sees as a threat. North Korea's last weapons testing was in May.

Read more: Trump meets Kim at Korean Demilitarized Zone

The North "fired one unidentified projectile at 5:34 a.m. (2034 UTC Wednesday) and the other at 5:57 a.m., from Wonsan areas into the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

"We have confirmed they were missiles. One missile flew 430 kilometers (267 miles) and the other is estimated to have flown a little further," the officials told AFP, adding that a joint analysis with the US was underway.

"It's not clear whether Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch on-site," the official said, referring to the North Korean leader.

"Our military is closely monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," the South's Yonhap news agency quoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying.

US reaction

A United States official also confirmed the reports but refused to say when the incidents occurred.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the White House was aware of a "short-range projectile launched from North Korea. We have no further comment."

President Trump’s security adviser John Bolton did not mention the launches when he tweeted in reference to "productive meetings" with South Korean officials on regional security and building a stronger relationship.

Japan gives more details

A Japanese government source, meanwhile, shed more light on the nature of the projectiles, saying they were short-range ballistic missiles.

The source said the missiles did not reach Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and had no impact on national security.

Nevertheless, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters the actions were "extremely regrettable," and that "if they were ballistic missiles, that would violate a UN security council resolution."

"We will continue to make efforts to collect and analyse information while coordinating with the United States and South Korea," Iwaya added.

jsi/se (AFP, Reuters, AP)

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> North Korea Conducts Missile Tests While Bolton Meets With Officials In Seoul

North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, the first such test since a high-profile meeting last month between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Official North Korean media on Thursday described the test of "projectiles," but Western experts quickly noted that the range, about 270 miles, and flight path of at least one of the missiles pointed strongly to it being a KN-23 SRBM, which was previously tested in May, a month before Trump and Kim met at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.

However, an unnamed South Korean defense official was quoted by Reuters as saying one of the missiles appeared to be of a new, longer-range design, flying about 430 miles.

The move by Pyongyang is seen as tactic to pressure the U.S. as it tries to get nuclear negotiations with Korea back on track. Even so, it is considered less provocative than 2017 tests of North Korea's ICBMs, which are capable of reaching the U.S.

It comes as National Security Adviser John Bolton, a hardliner on relations with North Korea, is meeting with South Korean officials in Seoul to discuss strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

It also follows a warning less than a week ago from North Korea that exercises planned between the U.S. and South Korea could jeopardize further denuclearization talks.

After a historic summit last June between Trump and Kim in Singapore, the president boasted that he had persuaded North Korea to denuclearize. But a follow up summit in Hanoi earlier this year quickly fell apart and the North Korean regime has shown few, if any, signs of taking concrete steps to end its nuclear or ballistic missile programs.

The White House did not immediately respond to the news, but South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman Choi Hyun-soo called the test "not helpful" in reducing tensions between the Koreas. Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters in Tokyo that "If they were ballistic missiles, they violate the U.N. sanctions, and I find it extremely regrettable."

A South Korean defense official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the missiles were launched from mobile platforms at a site near Wonsan on North Korea's coast.

North Korea has also been working on submarine-launched ballistic missiles and earlier this week, North Korea's Central News Agency released photographs of leader Kim inspecting a newly built submarine. Although there were no details released, Kim was quoted as expressing "great satisfaction over the fact that the submarine was designed and built to be capable of fully implementing the military strategic intention" of North Korea. </s> TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Japanese Minister of Defence Takeshi Iwaya said on Friday South Korea’s decision to end an intelligence-sharing pact was regrettable and showed it failed to appreciate the growing security threat posed by North Korea.

South Korea officially informed Japan on Friday of its decision to scrap the intelligence-sharing agreement, further straining ties amid a dispute over South Koreans pressed into forced labor during Japan’s wartime occupation of Korea.

“North Korea’s repeated missile tests threaten national security, and cooperating between Japan and South Korea and with the U.S. is crucial,” Iwaya told reporters.

Ties between the East Asian neighbors, both important U.S. allies, were already at their lowest ebb in years before South Korea’s decision to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

The dispute over forced laborers has also spilled over into trade, with Japan putting restrictions on exports of semiconductor materials to South Korea and removing it from a list of nations given preferential trading terms.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday Japan still expected South Korea to keep its promises on the contentious issue of wartime forced labor and to work to rebuild trust.

Under the GSOMIA, which had been due for automatic renewal on Saturday, the two countries shared information on the threat posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

South Korea will share intelligence with Japan through a three-way channel involving the United States, South Korea’s deputy national security adviser Kim Hyun-chong said on Friday, meaning Japan and South Korea are likely to revert to sharing intelligence through the U.S. military.

The United States, which fears weakened security cooperation in the region, expressed dismay over South Korea’s decision, announced on Thursday, to end the pact and urged the two countries to continue to engage with each other.

Kim said the decision to end the intelligence-sharing deal was inevitable as Japan had ignored South Korea’s repeated offers of dialogue to resolve what Japan said was damaged trust between them.

“I think this situation will be an opportunity to upgrade the South Korea-U.S. alliance, in close cooperation,” Kim said,

The Trilateral Information-Sharing Agreement (TISA) between the United States, Japan and South Korea, which Japan and South Korea will revert back to after their GSOMIA ends, specifies a narrower range of information to be shared, Kim said.

Under the TISA, the countries can share information about North Korean nuclear and missile threats, while GSOMIA’s range included information “directly or indirectly related to” North Korean nuclear or missile threats, Kim said. </s> North Korea fired two short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said, after warnings from Pyongyang over military exercises between Washington and Seoul next month.



The North has warned the annual military drill could affect the planned resumption of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

The two missiles were launched just after dawn from Wonsan on the east coast and flew more than 430km before falling into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the South's military said.

"Our military is closely monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," it said.

"We urge the North to stop actions that do not help ease military tensions," said Choi Hyun-soo, a defence ministry spokeswoman for South Korea.

Tokyo said the launches did not reach Japanese waters, with Japan's defence minister calling Pyongyang's move "extremely regrettable".

"We have confirmed so far that they did not reach our country's territory or exclusive economic zone," Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters.

'A sign of North's frustration'

Al Jazeera's Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul, said the launch is seen as a sign of North Korea's frustration at stalled nature of negotiations, primarily with the US.

"It's also North Korea's way of showing its displeasure against holding of military exercises next month between South Korea and the US forces. These exercises have been scaled down but they still do take place, and North Korea is not happy about that," he said.

"There is a sense of frustration from North Korean point of view. They see in [US President] Donald Trump the best hope to get relief from sanctions, and this is a way of reminding the world and the US they are still nuclear-armed power, they still have unfinished business, and they want to get back to the negotiation table."

Pyongyang last fired short-range missiles on May 9, which the US president called "very standard stuff" that, he said, had not affected his relationship with the North's leader Kim.

Kim and Trump agreed to a resumption of dialogue at an impromptu June 30 meeting they held in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas.

Following that meeting, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said working-level talks would probably start in mid-July.

'Blatant pressure'

But last week, North Korea issued a warning over the military drills, which have been held for years and were scaled down to ease tensions with the nuclear-armed state.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a submarine factory in an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated picture [KCNA/Reuters]

The North condemned the exercises as "blatant pressure" and a "violation of the spirit" of the joint statement Trump and Kim signed at their first summit in Singapore last year.

The North even hinted it could reconsider its moratorium on nuclear testing because of the drills, although the US State Department had remained upbeat over commitments made by Kim and Trump during the DMZ encounter and at a February summit in Vietnam.

At their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, Trump and Kim adopted a vaguely worded statement on "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" and agreed to "establish new US-DPRK relations".

But the failure to reach an agreement over relief from US sanctions, and what the North was willing to give in return, led to the collapse of the leaders' second summit in Hanoi.

Tensions rose in May, during the standstill in negotiations between Trump and Kim, when North Korea fired short-range missiles for the first time since November 2017.

"I don't consider that a breach of trust at all. And, you know, at some point I may. But at this point no," Trump said in an interview with Politico magazine at the time.

Asked on Tuesday whether any meetings were scheduled with the North, Trump said: "No, we just have a very good relationship. And probably they would like to meet and we'll see what happens."

Earlier this month, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Washington's pattern of "unilaterally reneging on its commitments" by holding military exercises with South Korea was leading Pyongyang to reconsider its own commitments to discontinue tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

On Tuesday, state news agency KCNA reported Kim inspecting a large, newly built submarine, accompanied by missile programme leaders. It potentially signalled continued development of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) programme. </s> (CNN) North Korea launched a ballistic missile test Monday, its third in less than three weeks.

The short-range ballistic missile traveled an estimated 248 miles, splashing down within Japan's exclusive economic zone, an area of sea where commercial ships are known to operate, according to statements from both the Japanese government and the South Korean military.

South Korea and Japan immediately issued strong protests, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promising "concrete action" in response to the test, and South Korean defense chiefs saying the North would face "strong punishment from our military."

What it's really like to be inside North Korea

What it's really like to be inside North Korea 01:40

What it's really like to be inside North Korea

North Korea has fired 12 missiles during nine tests so far in 2017 -- this compares with 10 missile launches in the same time period in 2016

Analysts say all of North Korea's tests, successful or not, provide information that help bring it closer to its goal of building a missile that could reach the US.

That the missile landed within 200 nautical miles of the Japanese coast was an "extremely problematic act for the safety of airplanes and ships" Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a statement. The launch, read the statement, "is clearly violating the UN resolution. The repeated provocative acts by North Korea is absolutely not acceptable."

The Japanese Prime Minister said a "firm protest" was lodged with North Korea and that Tokyo would take action "together with the United States." Analysts say Japan's options for dealing with North Korea unilaterally are limited.

Tokyo couldn't carry out a military response alone, said Carl Schuster, a Hawaii Pacific University professor and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center.

"Japan lacks the ballistic missiles, intelligence, targeting and reconnaissance assets, or electronic warfare and air defense suppression capability required to carry out any effective military response," Schuster said.

However, Japan could do some things that might hurt North Korea economically, he said, such as stopping and searching North Korean merchant and fishing vessels in Japanese waters.

No red lines

The government of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office in early May and who has advocated dialogue with the North, condemned Monday's launch.

"It is a severe threat to the peace and stability of not only the Korean Peninsula, but also the international community," said a statement from South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Since our new government took office, North Korea has been frequently and repeatedly conducting provocation in such manner. This is in direct opposition to our demands in regards to the denuclearization and peace of the Korean Peninsula."

"North Korea's continuous provocative actions will cause its own isolation and it will be facing strong punishment from our military, South Korea and US alliance and the international community," a statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs said.

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Despite that rhetoric, the allies have not given North Korea any "red lines" which it cannot cross or face a military strike, said Adam Mount, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

"If they're not clear on what they are attempting to deter, they're not going to have the effect they desire," Mount said.

Even if a military response was considered, the repercussions could be catastrophic.

"If this goes to a military solution, it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale," US Defense Secretary James Mattis said earlier this month.

Any pre-emptive military strike on North Korea would put South Korean and Japanese civilian populations, as well as US military installations within those countries, at risk for a North Korean counterstrike. Some estimates put 25 million civilians at risk in the Seoul metropolitan area alone.

Testing continues

Current economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations and others seem to have done nothing to slow North Korea's missile program.

On May 14, North Korea fired what analysts called its most successful test ever in its quest to develop ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.

That test reached an altitude of more than 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles), according to North Korea. Analysts said that test gave North Korea critical information on developing a re-entry vehicle for nuclear warheads and showed Pyongyang had a missile capable of striking the US territory of Guam.

On May 21, Pyongyang sent a medium-range ballistic missile into the waters off its east coast. North Korea said that projectile was a ground-to-ground strategic ballistic missile Pukguksong-2, state news agency KCNA reported.

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Key timing

As with a number of previous North Korean tests, the timing of Monday's launch came close to a key international event.

Less than two days earlier, Japan's Prime Minister met with US President Donald Trump and five other leaders from some of the world's most powerful countries at the G7 summit in Italy.

In their final communiqué, Abe and Trump -- along with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom -- said North Korea "increasingly poses new levels of threat of a grave nature to international peace and stability ... through its repeated and ongoing breaches of international law."

North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile...but China is trying hard! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2017

North Korea's May 14 test came as China was hosting a major economic summit in Beijing. In early April, Pyongyang tested a missile as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared to meet at a summit in Florida.

In a statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Beijing urged North Korea to "refrain from any action contrary to UN Security Council resolutions."

Echoing language used in the past, the statement added the situation on the Korean peninsula "is complex and sensitive."

"We hope all parties remain calm and exercise restraint ... and put the peninsula back on the track of peaceful talks," it said.

North Korea has said its missile testing is in reaction to threats against it by the South, the United States and Japan. </s> SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea’s missile launch (all times local):

South Korea’s military says it is analyzing with the United States whether North Korea really has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Cho Han Gyu, director of operations at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a televised briefing that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are determining whether a missile launched Tuesday has ICBM capability, as North Korea claims.

The launch was the latest in a series of tests by North Korea as it works to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States.

Cho said the missile demonstrated an improved range over an intermediate-range missile that North Korea tested on May 14.

North Korean citizens in the capital are praising their country’s launch of what it called its first intercontinental ballistic missile.

Soon after the authoritarian government announced Tuesday that it had fired the missile that morning, a 38-year-old Pyongyang man named Ri Song Gil said his country “can attack anywhere in the world.” He added, “Now, the time when the U.S. could threaten the world with nuclear weapons has passed away.”

Twenty-seven-year-old Kim Hye Ok calls the launch “extremely delightful news” and says North Korea “will march forward along our own way” despite international sanctions.

The launch appeared to be the North’s most successful missile test yet. A U.S. scientist examining its height and distance said it could be powerful enough to reach Alaska.

China says it opposes North Korean missile launches that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Tuesday that his country was collecting information about North Korea’s latest launch, conducted earlier in the day.

North Korea announced that it had tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, though that claim could not be immediately verified. The missile flew about 930 kilometers (580 miles) and fell into the Sea of Japan.

Geng said that China urges “the North Korean side to stop taking actions that violate Security Council resolutions and to create the necessary conditions for the resumption of talks.”

He also defended China’s efforts to try to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. He said that China’s role is indispensable, and that its contribution in that regard is recognized.

Japan’s government spokesman says it is still studying North Korea’s claim that it successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga (yoh-shi-hee-deh soo-gah) said Tuesday that Japan is “carefully analyzing the maximum distance of its flight.”

Suga said the missile landed about 300 kilometers (500 miles) off Oga Peninsula on Japan’s northwestern coast.

North Korea announced that it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier Tuesday. It is part of a string of recent tests as it works to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States.

North Korea says its latest missile test reached a height of 2,802 kilometers (1,740 miles) and flew 933 kilometers (580 miles) for 39 minutes before falling into the sea.

The country’s Academy of Defense Science said Tuesday in a statement that it was a successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missiles called Hwasong-14.

The statement was distributed by North Korea’s KCNA news service.

The reported trajectory was similar to that announced earlier by U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials, though the U.S. judged it to be an intermediate-range missile.

Either way, it would be a longer and higher flight than similar tests previously reported.

The U.S military says it tracked a North Korean missile for 37 minutes before it landed in the Sea of Japan.

The Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement Tuesday that an intermediate-range ballistic missile was launched from near an airfield in North Korea.

NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the missile did not pose a threat to North America.

South Korean and Japanese officials reported the North Korean missile launch earlier Tuesday. It is part of a string of recent tests as the North works to build a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States.

He wrote in two consecutive tweets: “Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”

South Korean and Japanese officials say North Korea launched a ballistic missile Tuesday morning that is believed to have landed in the Sea of Japan. It is part of a string of recent test-firings as the North works to build a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States.

Japanese officials say a ballistic missile fired from North Korea’s western coast is believed to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters the missile was fired around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday and flew for 40 minutes before landing in the Sea of Japan within waters where Japan claims economic rights.

He said no damage to aircraft or ships has been reported. Japanese media said the coast guard had cautioned ships about potential falling objects.

South Korean officials say North Korea launched another ballistic missile in the direction of Japan, part of a string of recent test-firings as the North works to build a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the launch was made from North Phyongan province. Other details were scarce. It wasn’t immediately clear if this was a routine firing of a short-range missile or an attempt to perfect North Korea’s longer-range missiles.

Just last week South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump focused much of their first meeting on opposing North Korea’s development of atomic weapons that threaten both allies. </s> North Korea has reportedly fired a ballistic missile, in the first test since Donald Trump took office as US president.

The ballistic missile was launched on Sunday morning and reached an altitude of about 550 kilometers, according to a South Korean military source.

Japanese officials said that the missile did not reach its waters.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the test was “absolutely intolerable” while President Trump assured the visiting Japanese PM that Washington was committed to the security of its key Asian ally.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile had been fired from around Banghyon, in North Pyongan Province, which is where South Korean officials have said the North test-launched its powerful mid-range Musudan missile on October 15 and 20 last year.

The latest missile flew about 500 kilometers and is believed to have fallen into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the missile did not hit Japanese territorial waters.

South Korea’s Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has threatened to punish North Korea over the move.

According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Seoul would make new efforts with its allies, including the US and Japan, to toughen sanctions against the North and make the country realize that it will “never be able to survive” without discarding all of its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea faced global condemnations and international sanctions following two nuclear tests and a slew of rocket launches last year.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un announced in a 2017 New Year address to the country that the North Korean military was almost ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Pyongyang says it is developing its missile and nuclear programs as deterrence against the United States. It says it will not abandon the programs unless the US ends hostilities toward the country. </s> "North Korea fired an unidentified missile eastward from the vicinity of Pyongyang this morning," the JCS said . The missile reached an altitude of 770 km and covered a distance of 3,700 km before falling into the ocean, according to South Korea's military.The South Korean and US militaries are analyzing details of the launch, Reuters reports.NHK Television urged residents in Hokkaido and Tohoku regions to take shelter as the projectile passed over Japanese airspace near Hokkaido at around 7.06am local time.Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary told reporters the missile was likely "the same as before," referring to the August 29 launch over Japan. Yoshihide Suga condemned Pyongyang's missile test "in the strongest words," saying the missile passed over Hokkaido and fell into the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 kilometers east of Arimori Cape.The Japanese government did not try to destroy the missile, according to reports. There's been no news of damage to aircraft and sailing vessels, or falling objects onto Japanese territory.Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, however, issued instructions to prepare for unforeseen circumstances by communicating prompt and accurate information to citizens.The North Korean launch comes shortly after South Korea staged a ballistic missile training drill in the Sea of Japan. The South Korean president has been notified and has immediately convened a National Security Council meeting.Just prior to the launch, Pyongyang warned that it was time to "annihilate" the US, to "sink" Japan and to "wipe out" South Korea following the adoption of a new UN Security Council sanctions resolution this week, in response to the regime's recent nuclear test.The 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously approved a new round of sanctions Monday, targeting North Korea's textile exports and its oil imports.On August 29, North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Northern Japan. The Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile is believed to have flown about 1,700 miles (2,735km) and reached a height of 341 miles (548km) before falling into the Pacific Ocean.After a number of last minute compromises, China and Russia supported the latest round of sanctions against Pyongyang Monday. While strongly condemning North Korea's actions, Moscow and Beijing continue to insist on the implementation of the so-called "double-freeze" proposal, which calls for Pyongyang to suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile tests in exchange for a halt to joint US-South Korea military drills.Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rapidly mounting with North Korea defiantly continuing its missile and nuclear tests and the US, South Korean and Japanese militaries regularly holding drills in the region, accompanied by strong rhetoric by Washington. Pyongyang says the boosting of its missile and nuclear program is justified as its only means of defense should these military maneuvers escalate into a direct confrontation.
North Korea tests two new missiles that land in the Sea of Japan, though not within Japanese territory. Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya condemns the testing as "extremely regrettable".