S Korea's Moon to call Trump for tension in peninsula after North's offensive

South Korea President Moon Jae-in is likely to place a call to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss the rise in tension in the Korean peninsula region after the recent weapon tests by North Korea. The leaders are expected to talk over the phone during Tuesday night (Seoul's time), reported Yonhap News Agency.

On May 4, North Korea launched several short-range projectiles off its east coast in the wake of stalled de-nuclearisation talks with the United States. Following this, North Korea's state media reported that military drills had taken place in the country for "assessing (the military's) ability to handle large-calibre long-range artillery and tactical guided weapons, as well as the accuracy of fire missions and the combat capability of defence units."

Despite the launches, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support to Kim, tweeting that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise." The reclusive state's leader had vowed to completely denuclearise during the first US-North Korea summit held in Singapore last year. The process has since been largely stalled, as the two states reportedly failed to resolve their differences on sanctions waivers. The reported disagreement also led to the abrupt ending of the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi this year.

While Pyongyang has asked for relief in sanctions in exchange for the steps it has taken towards denuclearisation, the United States has remained cemented in its resolve to only grant sanction waivers once North Korea has completely denuclearised. The recent weapon launches by North Korea are being largely seen as a sign of Pyongyang's frustration.

(With inputs from agencies.)