North Korea claimed a successful test of a sea-to-surface cruise missile on Tuesday. The missile tests come as President Donald Trump is making stops in several Asian nations, including a planned visit to South Korea.
“Important successes are being made in putting our nuclear forces on a practical basis… for steadily expanding the sphere of application of the war deterrents,” Pak Jong Chon, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, said following the missile test. “We should steadily update our combat capability. In particular, it is our responsible mission and duty to ceaselessly toughen the nuclear combat posture.”
Pyongyang has said that it is upgrading its nuclear capabilities as a deterrent to the US, which has expanded its strategic posture in East Asia.
The cruise missile launch was the second missile test by North Korea in two weeks. Before firing short-range missiles on October 22, Pyongyang had not conducted a missile test in five months.
President Trump is currently on a tour of Asia and plans to meet with Chinese President Xi when in South Korea later this week. Trump has floated the idea of meeting with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un while he is in East Asia.
A meeting appears unlikely as North Korea has ruled out talks with South Korea, and says it will only engage with the US if Washington drops the demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
While Kim has drawn a hardline position on talks with the US, North Korea has continued to build its relationship with Russia. On Tuesday, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow.
A North Korea Foreign Ministry statement published in state media said the talks occurred at a “time when the strategic and alliance character of the relations between the two countries has been further consolidated and their might and vitality have been fully demonstrated under the outstanding and seasoned guidance of the heads of state of the two countries.”
“The Russian side expressed full support for the DPRK side’s efforts and measures to firmly defend the state’s present position, security interests and sovereign rights.” It adds, “And the DPRK side expressed invariable sympathy and support for all the measures taken by the Russian side to remove the root cause of the Ukrainian dispute and attain the strategic goal of special military operations.”
