North Korea Fires Sea-to-Surface Cruise Missiles Ahead of U.S.–South Korea Visit:

In a bold display of military capability, North Korea announced that it test-fired several sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, just hours before Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the launches took place on Tuesday in the Yellow Sea and involved missiles that reportedly flew for over two hours before striking targets with precision. Top military official Pak Jong Chon — one of the senior commanders of North Korea’s armed forces — oversaw the exercise, declaring it an “important success” in the development of the country’s nuclear deterrent forces. He said the test was designed to assess “the reliability of different strategic offensive means and impress their abilities upon the enemies,” and reiterated that it is North Korea’s “responsible mission and duty” to continuously strengthen its nuclear combat posture. The launch was detected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, which confirmed that the projectiles were fired from north-western waters at approximately 3 p.m. local time (06:00 GMT). South Korean and U.S. forces are now analysing the weapons and maintaining combined readiness to deliver a “dominant response” to any provocations. This recent test comes hot on the heels of previous launches just last week, when North Korea unveiled a new hypersonic short-range ballistic missile system in a move it said was aimed at bolstering its nuclear war-fighting capabilities. The timing of the launches is especially significant. President Trump is visiting South Korea to attend the APEC 2025 meetings in the city of Gyeongju and was expected to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Jae‑myung. During his stay, Trump also plans to meet Xi Jinping, President of China. While speculation has swirled over a possible meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong‑un, South Korean officials say such a meeting is unlikely. Kim has publicly expressed that he retains “fond memories” of his earlier diplomacy with Trump, but he has made clear he would only consider further talks if Washington abandons its insistence that North Korea surrender its nuclear weapons programme. Since the high-stakes diplomacy between Kim and Trump collapsed in 2019, North Korea has shunned any talks with Washington or Seoul. Meanwhile, on the eve of his departure to South Korea, President Trump visited Tokyo where he met with families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. Trump reassured them that “the U.S. is with them all the way” as they pressed for help in finding their loved ones. Japan officially says 17 of its citizens were abducted by North Korea; North Korea acknowledged in 2002 that 13 were taken and has claimed eight died by 2019, with four never having entered the country. The missile test underlines how North Korea continues to assert and expand its missile and nuclear capabilities, even as regional diplomacy and multilateral meetings proceed. With military tensions once again heightened, both South Korea and the United States are keeping a vigilant eye on developments in the Korean Peninsula.

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