North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from its Wonsan area about three hours apart on Sunday, days before a summit between 
Donald Trump and 
Xi Jinping. The first flew about 450 kilometers and the second more than 600 kilometers, South Korea's military said. The launches came even after Trump scaled back a joint military exercise with South Korea last month in an apparent effort to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, PBS NewsHour reported.
What was fired, and when? The first missile was detected at around 3 p.m. and the second at roughly 5:50 p.m., South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The missiles ended up in the sea, and Japan's Defense Ministry said it detected a suspected North Korean missile but that the weapon did not land in its territorial waters, PBS NewsHour reported. South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked the launches from the initial stage and shared the details with Japan, the JCS said.
How did Seoul respond? After the first launch, South Korea's National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting with the defense ministry and the JCS, Yonhap reported. The office urged Pyongyang to halt its ballistic missile launches immediately, saying they violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. The JCS said it maintains the readiness "to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations."
What preceded the launches? Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, condemned the U.S.-led Pacific Vanguard maritime exercise and vowed a response. "Our will to defend our sovereignty will be expressed in clearer action," she said. She had earlier shrugged off Trump's overture, saying that shortening the drill would not change its "provocative, aggressive nature." Sunday's launches came about a week after the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from the same region on Sept. 12, Yonhap reported.
What is at stake at the summit? The summit is expected in Washington on Thursday. A focal point, Yonhap reported, is whether the two leaders will reaffirm their commitment to North Korea's denuclearization, a goal Pyongyang has fiercely resisted. Trump has repeatedly expressed a willingness to reengage with Kim, possibly later this year, while it remains unclear how far Beijing would go to push its Cold War-era ally back to dialogue. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday that a resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks would be "an important starting point" toward boosting chances for peace on the Korean Peninsula, PBS NewsHour reported. "What is clear is that President Trump wants dialogue," Lee said.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump, Xi Jinping. — JudgeMarket.
