U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un meet in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, June 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
U.S. President Donald Trump sought again on Friday to play down Pyongyang's recent short-range missile tests, saying they did not break any agreement he had with Kim Jong Un and he was sure the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) did not want to disappoint him.
In an apparent reference to Kim's pledge not to resume testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear bombs frozen since 2017, Trump said on Twitter: "Chairman Kim does not want to disappoint me with a violation of trust."
"There is far too much for North Korea (the DPRK) to gain – the potential as a country, under Kim Jong Un's leadership, is unlimited. Also, there is far too much to lose," said Trump.
Stressing the personal rapport he says he has built with Kim in three meetings since June last year, Trump said: "He will do the right thing because he is far too smart not to, and he does not want to disappoint his friend, President Trump!"
This picture taken on July 25, 2019, and released by the KCNA on July 26 shows a new-type of tactical guided short-range missile being launched at an undisclosed location in the DPRK. /VCG Photo
Despite Trump's words, the DPRK has embarrassed the U.S. president by testing the missiles even though he and Kim agreed at a June 30 meeting to revive stalled denuclearization talks.
The talks have yet to resume, and analysts believe the tests are designed both to improve DPRK's military capabilities and to pressure Washington to offer more concessions.
A summit between Trump and Kim in Vietnam in February collapsed after they failed to reconcile differences between U.S. demands for DPRK's complete denuclearization and Pyongyang's demands for relief from punishing sanctions.
Trump said on Friday the short-range tests "may be a United Nations violation," but he and Kim had never discussed such missiles.
The DPRK leader again on Friday inspected the test firing of a "newly-developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported earlier on Saturday.
The test firing came days after the Pyongyang's first test firing of the new rocket system on Wednesday. The South Korean military said on Friday that the DPRK fired at least two short-range projectiles into the East Sea before dawn.
This picture taken on July 25, 2019, and released by the KCNA on July 26 shows DPRK leader Kim Jong Un watching the missile launch at an undisclosed location in the DPRK. /VCG Photo
U.S. 'ready' to restart denuclearization talks with DPRK
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States is "ready to go" with restarting denuclearization talks with the DPRK.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and other related meetings in Bangkok, the top U.S. diplomat said he regretted that he was unable to meet with DPRK representatives in the Thai capital.
Although he expressed optimism that talks could restart soon, Pompeo said he had urged regional allies "to maintain the sanctions that spur diplomacy with North Korea (DPRK)."
Pompeo told reporters that he had held a "professional" meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier on Thursday.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Bangkok, Thailand, August 1, 2019. /Xinhua Photo
According to a statement on the meeting by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Pompeo told Wang that the U.S. is willing to restart contact with DPRK's working team at any time.
Wang urged Washington and Pyongyang to meet each other halfway, accommodate each other's concerns, and formulate a feasible roadmap as soon as possible. He called for resolving the Korean Peninsula issue politically by following a "phased approach with synchronized steps."
(With input from Reuters)