North Korea launches missile ahead of Trump-Xi summit

SEOUL North Korea on Wednesday risked provoking the United States and its allies further by conducting a missile test, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and U.S. Pacific Command. A JCS statement revealed the North fired a missile from the Sinpo area into the Sea of Japan at 6:42 a.m. (2142 Tuesday GMT). The Pacific Command staatement described the missile used as a “KN-15 medium range ballistic missile” launched from a “land-based facility”. Pyongyang has previously tested submarine-launched ballistic missiles from Sinpo. In a brief statement, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: “North Korea launched yet another intermediate range ballistic missile. The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment.” The North is set to feature prominently on the agenda when U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for their first summit this Thursday and Friday. Beijing is considered vital in enforcing United Nations sanctions targeting Pyongyang's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. However, the U.S. government insists it is ready to consider all options to contain the North Korean threat given the reclusive state's continued defiance of U.N. resolutions. In an interview with Financial Times published Sunday, President Trump indicated that Washington would act unilaterally on North Korea if China failed to help. “China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone,” Trump said. Defying the international community, North Korea test-fired four missiles on March 5, and another on Feb. 12. The country faced severe sanctions from the UN Security Council for a series of launches last year, in addition to two nuclear tests.