Moon warns DPRK missile launch complicates negotiation

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Republic of Korea's (ROK) President Moon Jae-in said Pyongyang's latest missile launch was probably a subdued protest against the United States after a failed summit of the two countries' leaders in Hanoi in February.

The DPRK fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles on Thursday, according to ROK's military, days after its leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of multiple rockets and a missile.

"North Korea (DPRK) seemed to be discontented it could not reach a deal in Hanoi," Moon said in an interview on Thursday marking his first two years in office.

A DPRK soldier observes the South through a binocular telescope at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, ROK, May 1, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Moon said such tests only complicate negotiations. "Whatever North Korea's (DPRK) intentions might have been, we warn that it could make negotiations more difficult," he said.

But the North appeared to have refrained from using weapons that directly threaten the U.S., Moon added.

ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two missiles were fired from the northwest of Kusong, in an easterly direction.

They covered distances of 420 km (260 miles) and 270 km (168 miles) and reached an altitude of about 50 km (31 miles) before falling into the sea, they said.

President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, was closely monitoring the situation through a video conference with the military, the Blue House's spokeswoman said.

Thursday's test came less than a week after DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of multiple rockets and a missile.

On Saturday, Pyongyang launched at least one short-range ballistic missile, saying they were "regular and self-defensive" and rejecting the notion that they were provocative.

The launch, from an east coast area, was its first test of a ballistic missile since launching an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.

U.S. Special Representative for DPRK Stephen Biegun arrives at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul, May 8, 2019. /Yonhap Photo

Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy for DPRK Stephen Biegun is in Seoul for talks with its Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and his counterpart, nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon.

The two sides aim to find ways to resume talks with Pyongyang amid signs of its growing frustration over deadlocked nuclear negotiations.

(Cover: A TV news report on the DPRK firing several short-range projectiles from its east coast, on a street in Tokyo, Japan, May 4, 2019. /Reuters Photo)