MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - By resuming its missile launches, Pyongyang is expressing its protest over the United States' preparations for large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea, the coordinator of the group of friendship between the Russian State Duma and the North Korean Parliament, Kazbek Taisayev (an MP from the Communist Party of Russia), said on Thursday.
"Such launches could be a reaction from the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] to the fact that the Americans and South Korea have now again resumed preparations for large-scale military exercises," he said.
"Diplomats of North Korea earlier made a clear statement on that score," Taisayev said.
"What is unclear is that talks appear to be underway, and [U.S. President Donald] Trump keeps saying at all levels that they and Pyongyang have made progress in their talks, but, at the same time, there are ongoing preparations for major military exercises on a scale yet unseen on the peninsula," he said.
Taisayev also said he is puzzled "why the U.S. is doing so if talks are underway with Seoul, if there is an opportunity to establish vehicle traffic between [North Korea] and South Korea and tear down the obstacles that exist on the 38th parallel."
"Beyond any doubt, Washington is provoking North Korea to conduct launches, but the DPRK has always said, and [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un has also said, that if they feel that someone is playing with them, they won't agree to it," the Russian parliamentarian said.
According to Taisayev, North Korea also has "quite vivid examples of how the Americans quickly sever their agreements with other states as soon as they see some benefit for themselves."
"But such methods of theirs won't work with North Korea. The DPRK will do all it can, but won't 'play' with anyone in the field of its defense potential and its independence which this country has gained at too high a price," he said.
The South Korean military command said earlier that North Korea had launched two unidentified projectiles from its east coast.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, North Korea fired one missile at 5:34 a.m. and a second at 5:57 a.m. from Wonsan areas into the East Sea (the Sea of Japan), and they flew about 430 kilometers.
CNN, in turn, has reported after information about the first launch, citing initial assessments of the U.S. military, that it was likely a short-range missile. According to Japanese media, military experts in Japan have come to the same conclusions.
North Korea carried out similar launches in May 2019, CNN said. At the time, Pyongyang also tested the abovementioned type of missiles, which was not then seen as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.