The launch comes as U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun visits South Korea, and hours after the North described its firing of rocket artillery and an apparent short-range ballistic missile on Saturday as a regular and defensive military exercise. The North also ridiculed South Korea for criticizing those launches. But North Korea has not gotten what it wants most from its summitry: sanctions relief. South Korean and U.S. officials have described what North Korea fired as “projectiles,” a broader term that include both missiles and artillery pieces. North Korea last conducted a major missile test in November 2017 when it flight-tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated the potential capability to reach deep into the U.S. mainland.

Source: National Post May 09, 2019 08:02 UTC