Missiles launched hours before South Korean President starts state visit to China on Sunday
\n Pyongyang
\nNorth Korea launched ballistic missiles on Sunday, the day the leader of rival South Korea starts a state visit to China, Pyongyang\u2019s chief ally, and just hours after the US attacked Venezuela.
\nThe firings of at least two missiles, the country\u2019s first in two months, further heighten global tensions after US President Donald Trump launched an assault in Venezuela in which President Nicolas Maduro was captured.
\nNorth Korea strongly denounced the US action, saying Washington \u201cwildly violated the sovereignty of Venezuela\u201d and the act shows \u201cthe rogue and brutal nature of the US\u201d.
\nThe North launched its missiles hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung began a state visit to China on Sunday in the hope of promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula during a summit with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
\nThe launches from the capital Pyongyang into the sea between the Koreas and Japan represent \u201ca message to China to deter closer ties with South Korea and to counter China\u2019s stance on denuclearisation\u201d, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul.
\nNorth Korea signals \u2018we are different from Venezuela\u2019 He said North Korea also wanted to send a message that \u201cwe are different from Venezuela\u201d \u2014 as a nuclear and military power, ready to respond with \u201caggressive deterrence\u201d.
\nReferring to North Korea\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un, Bong Youngshik, a visiting professor at Yonsei University, said: \u201cAfter seeing what\u2019s happening in Venezuela right now, the person who would be most afraid is Kim Jong Un.\u201d Seoul and Tokyo criticised the North\u2019s missile launches.
\nSouth Korea\u2019s presidential office said it had held an emergency security meeting and urged North Korea to cease \u201cprovocative acts that violate United Nations Security Council resolutions\u201d.
\nJapanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the launches threaten the peace and security of the region and the international community.
\n\u201cOur government lodged a strong protest with North Korea and strongly condemned it,\u201d Koizumi said in a statement.
\nUS forces for the Indo-Pacific said in a statement, \u201cThis event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies,\u201d adding the US was consulting closely with its allies and partners.
\nKim Jong Un flexing military muscles before party congress
\nThe missiles, launched around 7:50 am (local time) on Saturday, flew about 900 km (560 miles), South Korea\u2019s military said. Japan said there were at least two missiles that flew about 900 km and 950 km.
\nThe last time Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile was on November 7.
\nOn Saturday, Kim Jong Un called for more than doubling the production capacity of tactical guided weapons during a visit to a munitions factory, North Korea\u2019s state media reported.
\nIn recent weeks, Kim has made a series of visits to weapons factories, as well as to a nuclear-powered submarine, and has overseen missile tests ahead of this year\u2019s Ninth Party Congress of the Workers\u2019 Party, which will set out major policy goals.
\nSouth Korea expects Beijing to play a role in promoting peace on the Korean peninsula, said Wi Sung-lac, Lee\u2019s security adviser, without elaborating on details of the summit agenda.
\nLee\u2019s agenda with Xi includes persuading China to facilitate dialogue with North Korea, experts say, at a time when North Korea has dismissed an outreach from Lee, who took office seven months ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Missiles launched hours before South Korean President starts state visit to China on Sunday Pyongyang North Korea launched ballistic missiles on Sunday, the day the leader of rival South Korea starts a state visit to China, Pyongyang\u2019s chief ally, and just hours after the US attacked Venezuela. The firings of at least two missiles, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-523842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n