OUR North Korea fired two cruise missiles westward today, according to the South Korean national news agency Yonhap, citing a source close to its military. South Korea.

The test was registered on the day new conservative President Yoon Seok-gil ends his 100-day tenure in South Korea.

At a press conference after all the material he provided, Mr. Yoon said that if negotiations with North Korea were to take place, they should not be just a “political show” but should lead to peace.

He reiterated that his government was ready to offer economic assistance to Pyongyang in stages if it agreed to stop developing nuclear weapons and begin the process of denuclearization, recalling that he offered to dialogue with North Korea during his election campaign.

But “any dialogue between the leaders of South and North Korea or negotiations between officials should not be a political show, they should contribute to the restoration of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” he added.

The new president’s comments appeared to be an indirect rebuke to his predecessor Moon Jae-in and former US President Donald Trump during summit meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Negotiations aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula stalled in 2019. Since then, Pyongyang has said it will not give up its defense, although it has called for the lifting of suffocating economic sanctions against it.

South Korean and US officials have been saying for months that North Korea may be preparing to test nuclear weapons, the first time since 2017, when Mr. Kim unilaterally announced a moratorium on them and on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.

Mr. Yong said at a press conference that Seoul could not guarantee the security of the DPRK if it gave up its nuclear arsenal, but assured that his government did not want to change the status quo.

Pyongyang’s recent missile tests and reports that it is preparing for another nuclear test have rekindled debate about whether Seoul should also acquire a nuclear arsenal. Mr. Yun, who took office in May, assured his government is committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but said he is working with the US to strengthen “external deterrence.” .

^{According to APE, AFP, Reuters, Xinhua}