North Korea has yet to respond to President Donald Trump's repeated offers to meet with its leader, Kim Jong-un. Instead, it fired missiles off its west coast, the country's state media reported on Wednesday.

The weapons test, conducted on Tuesday, took place a day before Trump was scheduled to arrive in South Korea. On Wednesday, he is set to attend an Asia-Pacific economic forum in the city of Gyeongju.

During the test, sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles flew for more than two hours before striking their target, according to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.

Although North Korea has conducted various missile tests in recent years, the latest test-launch drew attention in part because of its timing.

While on his first trip to Asia since his return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly expressed his eagerness to have a face-to-face meeting with Kim again. The two leaders met three times during Trump's first term, but their direct diplomacy did not produce a deal on rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons programme or easing international sanctions placed on the country.

"I'd love to meet with him if he'd like to meet," Trump said on Monday, when asked if he would meet with Kim. "If he wants to meet, I’ll be in South Korea."

The last time the two men met, it took a little more than 30 hours for their governments to arrange a meeting on the border between North and South Korea. But this time, North Korea has not responded. It has said it will not reopen dialogue with Washington unless it is accepted as a nuclear weapons power.

New York Times News Service