The Associated Press reports:

North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for a resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country’s first reaction to Trump’s moves to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills.

“We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. “The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”

She also cited a series of other military drills carried out by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year and South Korea’s push to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.

Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim. Earlier pressed by reporters on whether he had a conversation with Kim Jong Un, Trump said that Kim has responded to his request for a conversation.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement did not contain North Korea’s typically harsh rhetoric. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are “great,” mentioning her brother’s past comments that he still has “good memories” of Trump. This suggests North Korea may be trying to manage relations with Trump, while seeking bigger concessions to restart talks. [Continue reading…]

The Associated Press reports:

North Korea launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, a day after the North shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches of about 10 short-range ballistic missiles happened from North Korea’s capital region around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Thursday. The military said the missiles flew about 300 kilometers (185 miles) each toward North Korea’s eastern waters.

The military said South Korea has bolstered its surveillance posture and was closely coordinating information on the launches with the U.S. and Japan. South Korea’s presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to halt ballistic missile launches. [Continue reading…]