US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he's "not happy" about North Korea's persistent testing of short-range missiles but again denied that the launches violate any agreement, The Hill reports.
The president was asked about the tests during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit.
"I’m not happy about it. But again, he’s not in violation of an agreement," Trump was quoted as having told reporters.
The president asserted that the short-ranged missile launches North Korea has repeatedly conducted in recent weeks were similar to other countries' tests.
Abe has expressed concerns over the launches and said Sunday that the testing of the short-range ballistic missiles "clearly violates the relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
"So in that sense, it was extremely regrettable for us to experience another round of short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea in recent days," Abe said.
"I can understand how the prime minister of Japan feels," Trump added, claiming there was no daylight between their positions.
The comments came hours after North Korean media reported that leader Kim Jong Un again supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed" weapon, the latest in a series of launches that North Korea has conducted in recent weeks in protest at US-South Korean joint military exercises.
The tests come as talks between the US and North Korea on denuclearization continue to stall, having broken down after the failed summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in February in Vietnam.
Nevertheless, Trump recently said that North Korea’s missile tests may have violated United Nations resolutions but did not break his agreement with Kim.
The president said earlier this month that he'd received a “beautiful” letter from Kim, adding that he expected the two men could meet again for talks.
"We're going to see what’s happening," Trump said on Friday, according to The Hill. "He likes testing missiles."