The U.S. president is set to depart for Asia at the end of the week.
North Korea test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Oct. 22, according to South Korea’s military. The launches were the first since May and came a week before U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders are expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the projectiles were fired from an area near Pyongyang, North Korea, early on Oct. 22 and flew about 350 kilometers (217 miles) toward the northeast. The missiles appeared to land inland, a military official said.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the launch posed no immediate threat to Japan’s security, noting that Tokyo was sharing information in real time with Washington and Seoul.
The missile test violates the U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from using ballistic technology. It also marks the first launch since Lee Jae-myung took office as South Korea’s president in June, vowing to pursue dialogue with North Korea.
Trump’s Asia Tour
Trump is to leave for Asia at the end of the week, his first trip to the region during his second term.
He plans to go to Malaysia first for a regional summit, then head to Japan before travelling on to South Korea for the APEC meeting.
“I‘ll be in Malaysia, I’ll be in Japan, I‘ll be in a couple of others. We’ll be sort of doing a little bit of a tour,” Trump told reporters on Oct. 20.
South Korean officials said on Oct. 20 that they expect to finalize their own trade agreement with the United States during the upcoming in-person negotiations.
On July 30, Trump announced that a broad agreement had been reached to lower tariffs on South Korean goods to 15 percent and for South Korea to invest $350 billion in the United States.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified in a subsequent media appearance that, although the deal was agreed upon in principle, no formal documents had been signed.
