North Korea Launches Two Short-Range Missiles, South Korea Says – The New York Times

North Korea conducted its last major weapons test in November 2017, when it launched a missile believed powerful enough to reach the continental United States.

After the Singapore meeting, Mr. Trump vowed to halt major joint military drills with South Korea. But the South Korean and American militaries have agreed to hold smaller and reconfigured joint drills, and 19-2 Dong Maeng is one of them.

The Singapore meeting ended with a vague agreement in which Mr. Trump committed to building new relations and providing security guarantees for North Korea in return for Mr. Kim’s agreement to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

But when the leaders met again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February, they failed to agree on how to implement their earlier deal.

The Hanoi talks collapsed when Mr. Kim demanded that Washington lift all major sanctions against his country in return for the dismantling of its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, the capital. Mr. Trump insisted on a more comprehensive breaking up of the North’s nuclear programs, including its nuclear weapons and missiles.

“North Korea is clearly upset that the U.S. and South Korea are conducting joint military exercises,” said Harry J. Kazianis, senior director of Korean studies at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest.

“Because of this, Pyongyang has refused to set a date for working-level talks with Washington, won’t accept food aid from Seoul and is now once again testing weapons systems that will surely increase tensions. We should not be shocked by this move and, in fact, we should have seen it coming.”