Trump says he’s not concerned about North Korean missile tests

President Trump on Friday said he’s not concerned by North Korea’s latest missile test, repeatedly downplaying the projectiles as “short-range” and touting his relationship with Kim Jong Un. 

“They’re short-range missiles and my relationship is very good with Chairman Kim,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And we’ll see what happens, but they are short-range missiles and many people have those missiles.”

{mosads}When a reporter noted that he appeared unbothered by the missile launches, Trump responded “no, not at all.”

North Korea issued a statement early Friday saying that the missile test, which reportedly involved a new type of projectile, was intended as a warning to South Korea and its president, Moon Jae-in.

Trump brushed aside the message, noting it did not include a threat toward the United States.

“He didn’t say a warning to the United States. I can tell you that,” he said. “But they have their disputes. The two of them have their disputes. … But they are short-range missiles and very standard missiles.”

Trump has met face-to-face with Kim on three occasions in the past 13 months in an effort to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. He became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in the hermit nation of North Korea last month.

While the president has spoken fondly of the North Korean leader, the meetings have yielded no concrete commitments to dismantling the country’s nuclear arsenal, and North Korea has conducted multiple missile launches in recent weeks.