Donald Trump has "no problem" with the latest North Korean missile tests

Kim and Trump agreed to resume denuclearization talks at their impromptu meeting in June in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, but this dialogue at the operational level has not yet begun.

Seoul:

North Korea conducted its third missile test in eight days on Friday, according to the South Korean army, but US President Donald Trump said he had "no problem" with the Pyongyang launch wave.

UN resolutions forbid nuclear-weapon Northerners from testing ballistic missiles and its actions have been condemned by European members of the Security Council, but a relatively optimistic response from Trump, who met North Korean leader Kim Jong one three times, has generated global headlines on every occasion.

"I don't have a problem, we'll see what happens, but the short-range missiles are very conventional," Trump told reporters when he left the White House for a rally in Ohio.

Kim and Trump agreed to resume denuclearization talks at their impromptu meeting in June in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, but this dialogue at the operational level has not yet begun.

Pyongyang is furious at the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that are scheduled to begin next week. According to analysts, the launches aim to increase pressure on Washington.

But the situation could delay negotiations until the fall, they said.

The North launched two short-range projectiles on its east coast on Friday morning early in the day, the chief of staff of the South said in a statement.

Two days after the North fire, two short-range ballistic missiles were described by Seoul. Pyongyang has been described as a "recently developed high-calibre multiple-launch rocket system".

Pyongyang launched two projectiles last week which, according to Seoul, were also short-range ballistic missiles, one of which covered nearly 700 kilometers (435 miles).

Kim had been "encouraged" by his handshake in the DMZ with Trump, said Jean Lee of the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and was seeking to create a sense of urgency on the Korean peninsula to improve his participation in early nuclear negotiations.

"This Is Kim's response to Trump's assertion that he is "in no hurry" to negotiate a nuclear deal, " she added.

'Tit For Tat Brinkmanship'

After high tensions in 2017, when the two leaders exchanged personal insults and threats of war, last year was marked by a rapid diplomatic rapprochement on and around the peninsula.

But progress towards true denuclearization has been slow, with Pyongyang still not agreeing to give up any of his weapons and Washington insisting that sanctions against him must remain in place.

Pyongyang indicated that negotiations could be interrupted by Washington's and Seoul's refusal to end annual manoeuvres between their forces, and described last week's launch as "a solemn warning to South Korean warmongers."

Pyongyang had a "range of military platforms" for which he could conduct more tests in response to the exercises, said Harry Kazianis of the national interest Centre.

"This end-to-end fight will clearly delay labor talks by at least until the fall to allow both sides to save face," he said.

Pixelated Images

The Pentagon has stated that joint military exercises will move forward.

28,500 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea to protect it from its nuclear - armed neighbor, many of whom are based south of Seoul at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek-Washington's largest overseas military facility.

On Thursday, northern state television images showed Kim supervising the previous day's launch from what appeared to be a mobile command post.

Pyongyang had long possessed the ability to devastate Seoul - which is only about 60 kilometres from the border - with artillery fire, but an operational guided rocket system capable of targeting accurately would pose a new threat to facilities in the south, such as Camp Humphreys.

According to analysts, the images appear to show a multiple rocket launcher, but some of them are highly pixelated, indicating that the North still keeps secret some of its features.

Trump has repeatedly praised his relations with Kim, while three members of the UN Security Council, Britain, France and Germany, have condemned Pyongyang for the series of tests.
They urged the North to "take concrete steps towards its full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the United States".