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North Korea fired at least one unidentified projectile Thursday, South Korea’s military said, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
The office of Japan’s prime minister said on X that the projectile was believed to be a ballistic missile.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he would meet Kim, seeking to revive the relationship he has said he forged with the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea during his first term.
Trump also said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding in an unusually precise assessment that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.
Hours later, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that North Korea had fired at least one “unidentified projectile,” without providing further details.
Trump’s renewed focus on Kim and his scaling back of joint U.S.-South Korean military drills have alarmed Asian allies while sparking speculation that he is seeking a foreign policy win as his war with Iran stalls.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, said Wednesday she did not know about the reported communication between her brother and Trump.
She nevertheless said her brother still had “good memories and feelings” about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remained “excellent.”
Earlier Wednesday, South Korea’s military said the drills would end Friday, rather than Aug. 27 as originally planned, “at the suggestion of the U.S. side.”
South Korea’s defense minister said Thursday that North Korea is estimated to have around 80 to 120 nuclear weapons.
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