Following up on North Korea’s firing of a number of short-range missiles
on Saturday, North Korea fired two more such missiles on Thursday.
South Korea reported that the two missiles flew 270 km and 420 km.
North Korean state media presented the previous firing as a test of North Korea’s “rapid reaction” ability. The South Korean President says he believes it is a protest against the failed Hanoi summit.
The summit failed in late February, and while both sides were at first
trying to downplay that fact, it eventually transitioned to the US and
North Korea blaming one another for the lack of progress.
The US responded to the new short-range missile tests with a round of
tests of their own. The US tests are probably not of any particular
significance beyond the administration wanting to prove that they aren’t
being done.