North Korea touts missile tests as Trump visits South Korea

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GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday that it has conducted successful cruise missile tests, the latest display of its growing military capabilities and one that comes while U.S. President Donald Trump visits South Korea.

Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his trip but acknowledged difficulties in arranging a meeting with Kim.

"I know Kim Jong Un very well. We get along very well,” Trump said at the beginning of his meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the South Korean city of Gyeongju. “We really weren’t able to work out timing.”

Speaking with reporters earlier aboard Air Force One en route from Japan to South Korea, Trump appeared to downplay the significance of the latest North Korean missile test activities.

"He’s been launching missiles for decades, right?” Trump said.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said its sea-to-surface missiles fired Tuesday flew for more than two hours before accurately striking targets in its western waters. It said the weapons would contribute to expanding the operational sphere of the country’s nuclear-armed military.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that South Korea and the United States were analyzing the weapons and maintaining a combined defense readiness capable of a “dominant response” against any North Korean provocation.

North Korea’s latest launches followed short-range ballistic missile tests last week that it said involved a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear war deterrent. They were North Korea's first ballistic missile tests in five months.

North Korea hasn't made a direct response to Trump's overture as it has shunned any form of talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. The two leaders met three times during the American president’s first term, and their third and last meeting happened at the Korean border village of Panmunjom.

Many experts say North Korea won't likely return to talks with Trump anytime soon unless it's assured it would get big U.S. concessions like extensive relief of sanctions. But others say North Korea would find it difficult to ignore Trump's repeated outreach because doing so could make it a less important foreign policy agenda for Trump.

Trump earlier said he would be willing to extend his Asian trip — South Korea is his final scheduled stop — if there was an opportunity to talk with Kim. Trump even suggested that sanctions relief could be discussed if the meeting is realized.

Last month, Kim said he wouldn’t return to talks with the United States unless Washington drops its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization.

Kim’s top foreign policy priority is now Russia. In recent months, he has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and positioning his country as part of a united front against the U.S.-led West.

Trump is in South Korea for talks with Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit set to open on Friday. Trump will likely skip the APEC summit.

During his meeting with Trump, Lee, a liberal who espouses greater reconciliation with North Korea, said that he thinks Kim hasn't understood Trump's sincerity but the American president's outreach itself could help foster peace on the Korean Peninsula.