South Korea: North Korea launches another ballistic missile

South Korea says North Korea has launched another test fire of a ballistic missile on Monday, the latest in a series of launch tests over the past few months, the Associated Press reported.

The test comes after the increasingly hostile state launched about a dozen missile tests this year, with three in March alone.

{mosads}Last month, a U.S. official said one of the tests could be signs of an ICBM rocket engine in the early stages, Reuters reported.

Just a day before Monday’s test, an American warship sailed close to a disputed island in South China Sea in an attempt to challenge the separate ownership claims by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, The Guardian reported.

President Trump is trying to add more pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping to do more to sway North Korea to halt its nuclear programs and missile launches.

On Sunday, the president discussed his concerns about North Korea with Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

During his call with the Chinese leader, Trump pressured Xi to help with the “growing threat.”

Trump has repeatedly said China is the key to deterring Pyongyang, although admitting that “it has not worked out” so far.

The tensions with North Korea have been further tested with the death of the American student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea for 17 months and who died shortly after coming home in a coma.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also spoke with with Chinese officials last week about the growing tensions with North Korea.

This test-fire comes shortly before Trump is expected to meet with Xi and other world leaders at the upcoming  G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany next week.