South Korean presidential hopeful pushes for Trump-Kim talks as North Korea fires missiles
South Korea's front runner presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said in a social media message on Thursday that summits between North Korea and the United States must restart.
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US President Donald Trump has said he plans to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the two men developed a working relationship during Trump's first term in office.
Lee's call came as North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said on Thursday, in what may be a performance test of various projectiles for export.
The missiles were launched from Wonsan, North Korea's eastern coastal city, around 8.10am (local time) and flew up to 800km (497 miles) before splashing down in the sea, the military said in a statement.
South Korea is closely communicating with the US and Japan to share information about the launch, it added.
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South Korea's Joint chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun declined to comment on the exact number of missiles detected or their characteristics but said at a news briefing the launch may have been to test the performance and flight stability of missiles intended for export.
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