(FiveNation.com)- According to NK News, North Korea has acknowledged that it has carried out a missile test, but the country has stated that South Korea has the location of the test incorrect.
The announcement was delivered by Kim Yo-jong, who is the deputy department director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea. She is also the sister of the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. In North Korea, it was already Friday morning when she made the statement.
North Korean state media reports that Kim Jong-un has turned down South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “ridiculous” offer of economic help to North Korea in exchange for getting rid of their nukes. Kim reportedly referred to the proposal as “audacious.”
The isolated and rogue country believes its nuclear weapons are a critical piece of its survival, but, geopolitically, can very well lead to its demise.
Yoon did not mention the launches while he was speaking at a news conference to honor his first 100 days in office. The launches were only publicly announced by the South Korean military sometime later.
Yoon stated once more that he would be willing to offer North Korea gradual economic assistance if it stopped developing nuclear weapons and began the process of denuclearization. He also mentioned that he has been advocating for talks with Pyongyang since he ran for office.
The South Korean president said that any dialogue between the leaders of the South and North, or negotiations between working-level officials, should not be a political show, but should contribute to establishing substantive peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
The comments were interpreted as a criticism of the meetings that his predecessor Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim, and former President Donald Trump had participated in.
Despite these meetings, progress toward disarmament was not made in 2019, and North Korea has stated that it will not give up its right to self-defense, despite the fact that it has demanded that sanctions be lifted.
North Korea has been observed making preparations for what may be its first nuclear test since 2017.
