North Korea fires missiles after Trump pushes to meet with Kim

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi issued an “emergency warning” on the X platform.

According to several UN Security Council resolutions, the isolated country under ruler Kim Jong Un is fundamentally prohibited from firing ballistic missiles.

US President Donald Trump had previously brought up a meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un later this year. "Yes, I will," Trump said on Wednesday while touring a new helipad at the White House when asked by reporters whether he planned to meet Kim later this year. He added that it was important to him to "get along well" with Kim. Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong, however, stated that she was "absolutely not aware of" such communication.

"He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons," explained the US President. »If I had been president, I would not have allowed this. But he has it.”

It is highly unusual for Trump to name a specific number of nuclear weapons possessed by North Korea. ​The US government does not publish official estimates. The Stockholm peace research institute Sipri estimated the number at around 60 in June.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also spoke out in favor of direct talks with the North Korean leader in mid-August.

The missile tests come just days after both South Korea and the United States made significant concessions to North Korea. At the weekend, US President Donald Trump ordered that the joint military maneuvers with South Korea that had been ongoing since Monday be significantly reduced. He referred to his supposedly "very good relationship" with North Korea's rulers.

North Korea nevertheless responded with criticism. According to the state news agency KCNA, Kim Yo Jong said on Wednesday that reducing the size and duration of the exercises would not change their "provocative and offensive character." These are still hostile military exercises against North Korea.