North and South Korea

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the Sea of Japan

according to South Korea’s defense ministry.

The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch toward the body of water that Koreans call the East Sea but it gave no details.

The report came a day after South Korea concluded five days of joint maritime drills with the United States and Japan that were focused on North Korea.

The US president also said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. It was unusual for a US official to state a specific number on a classified issue. Seoul says the North has around 80-120 nuclear weapons.

Hours after Trump’s remarks, North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s military said.

Hours after the launches, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, said Trump’s decision to scale back the drills with South Korea was Seoul’s punishment.

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