Analysts link North Korean missile tests to summit diplomacy

North Korea may be using missile tests to influence the agenda of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, according to analysts cited by the South China Morning Post. The analysts said the launches could be designed to prevent North Korea’s denuclearisation from being discussed without Pyongyang’s interests being considered. They also suggested the tests could underline North Korea’s demand to be recognised as a nuclear power before resuming talks with Washington.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, on Sunday. The launches were detected three hours apart. The first missile travelled about 450km, or 280 miles, according to the report.

The source material does not provide the full flight distance of the second missile, its launch location or any official response from the United States, China or North Korea. The analysts’ assessment is presented as an interpretation of the launches rather than a confirmed explanation of Pyongyang’s intentions. The available information also does not state whether the missile tests altered the planned agenda of the Xi-Trump summit.