North Korea Fires Missiles

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in what analysts said was a calculated move to grab attention as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits South Korea for talks.

Blinken is attending the third Summit for Democracy and met President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul. He will also meet his South Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the event, for discussions now likely to be dominated by the allies' efforts to counter threats from the nuclear-armed North.

Washington and Seoul wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises last week, prompting angry retorts and live-fire drills from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which condemns all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion.

"We have a profound stake in ensuring that democracies can lead the world in AI innovation so that we can in turn lead the world in setting the norms, the standards, the rules by which artificial intelligence is used," Antony Blinken said.

Seoul is one of Washington's key regional allies, and the United States has stationed about 27,000 American soldiers in the South to help protect it against the nuclear-armed North.

Conservative President Yeol has boosted ties with Washington and sought to bury the historical hatchet with former colonial power Japan to better guard against Pyongyang's threats.

So far this year, Pyongyang has declared South Korea its "principal enemy", jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over "even 0.001 mm" of territorial infringement.

The democracy summit has attracted some criticism due to its selective invitation list, which excludes countries that consider themselves democratic, such as Thailand and Turkey.

The United States is redoubling efforts to improve longstanding ties with regional allies, such as Manila, in an effort to counterbalance China.