North Korea's latest provocations signal frustration with Beijing

China joining South Korea and Japan at summit spurs missile, balloon barrage

20240530 North Korea missile TV show

People in Seoul watch a large TV screen showing an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program on May 30. The North earlier in the day fired a barrage of suspected ballistic missiles toward eastern waters, according to South Korea's military. © AP

STEVEN BOROWIEC, Nikkei staff writer

SEOGWIPO, South Korea -- Since China, Japan and South Korea held a rare trilateral summit in Seoul on Monday, North Korea has carried out a flurry of aggressive acts, which analysts say indicate a particular irritation with traditional patron Beijing.

Early Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that Pyongyang had fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast. North Korean state media on Friday described the launches as "showers of fire for annihilation" that clearly show "what consequences our rivals will face if they provoke us."

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