North Korea fires ballistic missiles ahead of Trump’s Asia trip

North Korea has fired several short-range ballistic missiles just a week before a key Asia-Pacific leaders' meeting in South Korea. It is Pyongyang's first ballistic missile test since May, defying UN Security Council sanctions.

The incident has raised fresh tensions over US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to South Korea and ongoing talks between Seoul and Washington. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and US President Donald Trump are scheduled to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea next week. Trump is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that they detected several short-range ballistic missiles fired northeast from an area near the North Korean capital Pyongyang early Wednesday (October 22). The missiles traveled about 350 kilometers (217 miles) and military officials believe they landed inside the country.

President Trump and President Lee are reported to have discussed the possibility of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their visit to South Korea. Pyongyang has not commented publicly on the matter. US officials have considered visiting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas, although this has not been confirmed.

Trump and Kim held three summits during his first term, from 2017 to 2021, but those diplomatic efforts collapsed over US demands for Kim to give up his nuclear weapons. Nuclear-armed North Korea has been steadily improving its missile capabilities for the past decade, defying multiple UN sanctions.

South Korea's military said it detected the missiles' movements before they were launched and was closely monitoring their trajectory after they were launched. Meanwhile, South Korea has already suspended tourist visits to the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom until early November.