North Korea fired 2 short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast early on Wednesday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Why it matters: The projectiles did not pose a threat to the United States or its allies, a U.S. official told CNN, but North Korea nonetheless has appeared to have conducted its second missile test in a week. President Trump has repeatedly downplayed North Korea's missile tests since meeting Kim Jong-un at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) last month.
The big picture: The latest launches were from the Wonsan area on the Hodo Peninsula on North Korea’s east coast — the same place as last week's missile tests, per Reuters. Pyongyang's state media described those tests as a "solemn warning" for Seoul, though Trump later argued that Kim "didn’t say a warning to the United States," per Politico.
- Trump claimed stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington would resume after the DMZ meeting and trumpeted progress between the two countries.
- North Korea is angry over planned U.S.-South Korean military drills and may be trying to press the United States for negotiation concessions, AP notes.
Go deeper: Ignoring North Korean missile tests could hamper nuclear talks
This article has been updated with more details on the missile launches.
