N Korea conducts more missile tests

North Korea has carried out a series of missile tests in preparations for the anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

The testing of a high-precision tactical missile was supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday, the country’s official KCNA news agency reported.

The 69th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese rule in 1945 will be on Friday.

The testing of the ballistic missiles coincided with the arrival of Pope Francis in South Korea for a 5-day visit.

North Korea fired three short-range missiles just minutes before the pope landed in Seoul on Thursday morning for the first papal visit to Asia in 15 years. Two other missiles were launched later on the day.

Pope Francis told an audience in Seoul later on Thursday that dialogue – not “displays of force” – remained the only way to establish peace in the divided Korean Peninsula.