North Korea fires missiles after dialogue offer

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) – North Korea launched two short-range projectiles early Tuesday, despite offering dialogue to the United States just hours earlier.

The missiles were fired into open water but they first flew over land across the Korean Peninsula from South Pyongyang province, according to South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, which is studying what kind of projectiles they were along with American analysts.

The launch was the North’s first in 17 days, but its 10th missile test this year, as Pyongyang appears to be pressuring the U.S. amid their stalled dialogue process.

American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested last Sunday that President Donald Trump would be "very disappointed" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un does not return to denuclearization negotiations.

Trump and Kim agreed to resume working-level talks when they met at the inter-Korean border in June.

Choe Son-hui, the North’s first vice foreign minister, said Monday via Pyongyang’s state-run KCNA news agency that her country is prepared to hold dialogue later this month, although she also called for Washington to make an acceptable proposal.