After North Korea's latest missile launch, South Korea urges for diplomatic discussions

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on North Korea to make some serious efforts for dialogue after Pyongyang launched a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast on Wednesday morning. This was reportedly the first such test by Pyongyang in 2022.

Speaking at an event at an inter-Korean border town, President Moon stated that North Korea test-fired an unspecified short-range projectile this morning. He further claimed that it may result in escalating tensions, leading to the worsening of deadlock in inter-Korean relations, Yonhap news agency reported.

However, Moon stated that South Korea should not give up on the discussion in order to truly overcome this predicament. He also asked North Korea to make some serious efforts towards it. According to the South Korean military, North Korea is suspected of firing a ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

It's also the North's first projectile launch since a new submarine-launched ballistic missile was fired off in October last year. Since the no-deal summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-US President Donald Trump in 2019, North Korea has avoided negotiations on its nuclear programme.

President Moon attended a ceremony to establish a single-track line from the east coast city of Gangneung to the border town of Jejin on Wednesday, just before a suspected missile was launched. According to the report, the line has been disconnected since 1967.

The reconnection of cross-border roads and railways was one of the important agreements struck during the 2018 summit between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un in the border hamlet of Panmunjom. However, the peaceful atmosphere in the Korean region has come to a standstill after Kim and Trump's second summit concluded without a deal, as per Yonhap. 

US agreed "in principle" to end decades-long dispute and cold war: South Korea

It should be mentioned here that the Gangneung-Jejin line had received a lot of attention because of its potential connection to a North Korean railway. The Gangneung-Jejin line symbolically indicates South Korea's trust and willingness to relink a railway in North Korea, according to Moon.

Meanwhile, the missile launch comes just days after South Korea claimed that it had reached an agreement with the US on a draft to officially end the Korean war. Addressing a press conference, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-Yong declared that the US has agreed "in principle" to end the decades-long dispute and cold war.

Image: AP