North Korea test-fires cruise missiles as Trump arrives in South Korea for APEC

North Korea test-fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles to the west of the Korean peninsula on Tuesday, state media KCNA said on Wednesday, just ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in the South Korean city of Gyeongju on Wednesday to join other heads of state and business leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum for various summits and meetings. He is also expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.

The cruise missiles were fired vertically and flew about 7,800 seconds along a preset route to hit the target, KCNA said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not in attendance, according to KCNA.

Referring to the firing, Pak Jong Chon, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of North Korea, said “important successes are being made” in practically developing North Korea’s “nuclear forces” according to the plan set by the country’s ruling party, KCNA reported.

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With inputs from Reuters