Defense

North Korea’s Kim: Missile launches a warning

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday reportedly called his country’s latest missile test a “warning” to the U.S. and South Korea over the countries’ joint military exercises. 

He said that Tuesday’s missile test was “an occasion to send an adequate warning to the joint military drill now underway by the U.S. and South Korean authorities,” Reuters reported, citing state news agency KCNA. {mosads}

Pyongyang said Wednesday that the “new-type tactical guided missiles” launched from the western part of North Korea, flew across its capital and “precisely hit the targeted islet” off the country’s east coast, Reuters noted. 

KCNA, meanwhile, reported that the event “clearly verified the reliability, security and actual war capacity” of the weapon, according to the news service. 

The launch was North Korea’s fourth in less than two weeks.

The U.S. and North Korea had been in denuclearization talks earlier this year, but those talks stalled after a failed February summit between Kim and President Trump in Vietnam. 

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Sang-min said on Wednesday that North Korea should halt its tests and work on confidence-building, according to Reuters.