WASHINGTON _ Donald Trump said that North Korea's recent tests of short-range rockets and missiles may run afoul of United Nations resolutions but haven't violated agreements with his administration.
North Korea on Friday conducted its third test in a week of a new short-range ballistic missile that weapons experts say was designed to strike U.S. allies in East Asia.
Trump has met three times with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the hope of persuading him to surrender his nation's nuclear arsenal. While the diplomacy has led Kim to cease tests of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles that once threatened the U.S. mainland, Trump has little else to show for his effort.
But on Friday, the president said that he believes Kim still seeks to reach an agreement with him.
"Chairman Kim does not want to disappoint me with a violation of trust, there is far too much for North Korea to gain," Trump said in the second of three tweets. "Also, there is far too much to lose.
"I may be wrong, but I believe that Chairman Kim has a great and beautiful vision for his country, and only the United States, with me as president, can make that vision come true," he added.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a Bangkok summit earlier on Friday that the missile tests wouldn't interfere with U.S. efforts to re-start talks with Kim. The two sides haven't made progress since Trump walked out of a summit with Kim in Hanoi in February after the North Korean made what the U.S. side considered unreasonable demands.
"You should never doubt what we are communicating to North Korea; there are conversations going on even as we speak," Pompeo said in a question-and-answer session with Bloomberg TV. But he noted the diplomatic road is often a bumpy one.
"We are still fully committed to achieving the outcome that we laid out, for a fully, verified denuclearization of North Korea, and to do so through the measure of diplomacy."
Friday's projectile reached at altitude of about 25 kilometers (15 miles) and flew for about 225 kilometers (140 miles) at a maximum speed of Mach 6.9, South Korea's Defense Ministry said. This means it could strike some U.S. military bases in the country a minute or two after launch.
North Korea appears to be testing its KN-23, solid-fuel, short-range ballistic missile, with its first test coming in May followed by another volley that month and three more volleys since July 25.
The KN-23, similar to a Russian Iskander, is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and has been shown to fly as far as 690 kilometers (430 miles) _ putting U.S. allies South Korea and parts of Japan at risk. It's designed to be mobile, which makes it easier to hide, and fly at a height and speed that makes it hard for U.S. interceptor systems to shoot down, weapons experts have said.
