North Korea successfully tested a new "ground-to-sea cruise rocket" that is capable of striking enemy battleships staging a military attack, the country's KCNA news agency said Friday.
Pyongyang launched several land-to-sea missiles early Thursday, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA said. The missiles "accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," it reported.
The missile test was North Korea's fourth in the span of a month, and comes after the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on Kim's government last week. The three previous tests were of ballistic missiles, with North Korea appearing determined to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and reaching the U.S. mainland.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday the resumption of talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is made more difficult by Pyongyang's increasingly frequent missile tests. "We hope, at some point, the talks could resume, but we are nowhere near that point," Nauert said.
The latest missile firing came just one day after South Korea suspended the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. Nauert said the suspension of THAAD deployment is "part of the conversations" that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had with President Donald Trump at an Oval Office meeting on Thursday. "This is a conversation that's taken place at the highest level. We are committed to our South Korean ally. That commitment remains ironclad. We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," Nauert said.
Seoul said it would delay the installation of remaining components of THAAD anti-missile system until it completes an assessment of the system's environmental impact.
朝中社星期五报道说，朝鲜成功地试射了一枚新的“地对海巡航火箭”，可以打击发动军事袭击的敌方战舰。
朝中社说，星期四早上，在金正恩领袖的监督下，平壤发射了几枚地对舰导弹。报道说，这些导弹“准确地发现并击中了朝鲜东海的浮动目标。”
这次导弹试射是朝鲜一个月中的第四次。上星期，联合国安理会刚刚对金正恩政权实施了新的制裁。前三次都是弹道导弹试射，朝鲜看似决心要发展能够携带核武器并能打到美国本土的导弹。
美国国务院发言人诺尔特星期四说，由于平壤日益频繁的导弹测试，与朝鲜就朝鲜半岛无核化问题恢复谈判变得更加困难。诺尔特说：“我们希望会谈将在某一时间恢复，但是我们远没有到达那一步。”
最新导弹发射的一天前，韩国决定暂停部署美国萨德反导弹系统。诺尔特说，暂停部署萨德是蒂勒森国务卿、马蒂斯国防部长与川普总统星期四在椭圆形办公室开会时“谈话的一部分”。她说：“这是一次最高级别的谈话。我们忠实于我们的韩国盟友。这个忠诚依然坚不可摧。我们当然了解当前的局势以及更多发射器的部署已经暂停。”
韩国说，将推迟部署萨德反导弹系统的余下工程，直到完成对该系统环境影响的评估。