North Korea slams ‘sinister’ South and allies as live-fire exercises with US begin

US, Japan and South Korea tighten monitoring of North's missile launches; meanwhile South puts first commercial satellite in space on own rocket

North Korean media has criticised as sinister measures" plans by South Korea, the United States and Japan to share real-time data on missile launches by Kim Jong-un's regime - with the North lashing out as its neighbour this week undertook its largest-ever live-fire exercises with the US.

The leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan met at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, last weekend and discussed new coordination in the face of North Korea's illicit nuclear and missile threats. North Korea has undertaken a series of missile and weapons tests in recent months, most recently a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The North's missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned by the UN security council.