North Korea fires ballistic missile, in 1st test in 2 months

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. military says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea, its first weapons launch in about two months and a signal it isn’t interested in rejoining denuclearization talks anytime soon and would rather focus on boosting its weapons arsenal. The launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further strengthen his military capability — without disclosing any new policies toward the United States or South Korea — at a high-profile ruling party conference last week. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command says the ballistic missile launch “highlights the destabilizing impact of (North Korea’s) illicit weapons program” but didn’t pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or its allies.