North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the testing of a super-large multiple rocket launcher in this undated photo released last month. Japan's Coast Guard said in a statement North Korea had launched what appeared to be a missile and urged vessels to pay attention to further information and not to approach any debris. It came just a day after Pyongyang announced it had agreed with the United States to hold working-level talks on Saturday, a development that could potentially break months of stalemate. Trump has played down North Korea's recent series of short-range launches, saying in September the US and North Korea "didn't have an agreement on short-range missiles" and that many countries test such weapons. "North Korea has recycled its carrot-and-stick strategy against the U.S. multiple times with great success," said Lee Sung-yoon, Professor of Korean Studies at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 02, 2019 00:22 UTC