North Korea fires projectiles, rejects South Korea's dialogue pledge

NorthKorealaunched at least two projectiles into the sea on Friday, SouthKorea's military said, shortly after Pyongyang described SouthKorea's president as "impudent" and vowed that inter-Korean talks are over.

TheNorthhas protested against joint military drills conducted by SouthKoreaand the United States, which kicked off last week, calling them a rehearsal for war. It has fired several short-range missiles in recent weeks.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

NorthKoreafired two more unidentified projectiles into the sea off its east coast on Friday morning, SouthKorea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. SouthKorea's National Security Council was meeting to discuss the latest launches.

Japan's defence ministry said it did not see any imminent security threat from the latest projectile launch.

The launches have complicated attempts to restart talks between US andNorthKorean negotiators over the future of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

Those denuclearisation talks have been stalled despite a commitment to revive them made at a June 30 meeting between US President Donald Trump andNorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un.

Earlier on Friday, Pyongyang rejected a vow by SouthKorean President Moon Jae-in a day earlier to pursue talks with theNorthand to bring unification of theKoreas by 2045.

The loss of dialogue momentum between theNorthand South and the stalemate in implementing pledges made at a historic summit between their two leaders last year was entirely the responsibility of the South, aNorthKorean spokesman said.

The unidentified spokesman repeated criticism that the joint US-SouthKoreadrills were a sign of Seoul's hostility against theNorth.

"We have nothing to talk any more with the SouthKorean authorities nor have any idea to sit with them again," theNorth's spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said in a statement carried by theNorth's official KCNA news agency.

The committee is theNorth's government agency tasked with managing relationships with the South. The rivalKoreas are technically still at war after the 1950-53Korean War ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty.

Moon and Kim have met three times since April last year, pledging peace and cooperation, but little progress has been made to improve dialogue and strengthen exchanges and cooperation.

The South's Moon said in a Liberation Day address on Thursday it was only through his policy ofKorean national peace that dialogue with theNorthwas still possible.

"In spite of a series of worrying actions taken byNorthKorearecently, the momentum for dialogue remains unshaken," Moon said in remarks markingKorea's independence from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

TheNorth's spokesman described Moon as an "impudent guy" who is "overcome with fright".

He said Moon had no standing to talk about engagement with theNorthbecause of the ongoing military manoeuvres by SouthKorea.

"His open talk about 'dialogue' between theNorthand the South under such a situation raises a question as to whether he has proper thinking faculty," the spokesman said.

It was "senseless" to think that inter-Korean dialogue would resume once the military drills with the United States were over, he said.

The spokesman left open the possibility of talks with the United States.

Trump and Kim have met twice since their first summit in Singapore last year and said their countries would continue talks. However, little progress has been made on theNorth's stated commitment to denuclearise.