Trump says North Korea missile tests no threat to US

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday brushed off the bellicose language accompanying North Korea´s latest short-range missile test, saying it referred to ally South Korea, not the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called two missiles fired Thursday under his personal supervision a “solemn warning” to the South over planned military drills with the United States. Trump, who has invested heavily in a relationship with Kim, widely seen as one of the world´s most repressive dictators, was unconcerned. “He didn´t send a warning to the United States,” the president told reporters. “They have their disputes, the two of them have their disputes,” he said of North and South Korea, which fought a 1950-1953 war in which US troops took a major part, ending up as the South´s principal protector. Trump noted that the missiles were short-range, calling them “very standard.” Although they could not have reached anywhere near the United States, the missiles´ range would easily include ally South Korea and large US military bases near the border. “My relationship with very Kim is very good. We´ll see what happens,” Trump said. Trump has used three dramatic meetings with Kim to try and upend years of diplomatic failure in getting North Korea to abandon a nuclear weapons program. Kim has so far given up none of his arsenal.