SEOUL — Nuclear-armed North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range missile into the sea on Tuesday, the South’s military said, as Pyongyang’s UN ambassador insisted it had an undeniable right to test its weapons. She condemned as “double standards” South Korean and US criticism of the North’s military developments, while the allies build up their own capacities. In his own UN General Assembly speech, the North’s Kim Song said the North had a right to “develop, test, manufacture and possess” weapons systems equivalent to those of the South and its US ally. The administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that it is willing to meet North Korean officials anywhere, at any time, without preconditions, in its efforts to seek denuclearization. The North was also due to open a session of its rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, on Tuesday.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 28, 2021 02:03 UTC