U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton says President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “have an understanding” that Kim won’t launch long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Bolton said Trump is watching the North’s recent series of short-range projectile launches “very carefully.”

He said that North Korea appears to have conducted the recent series of missile tests to get a new weapon "fully operational," adding that the projectiles appear to be ballistic missiles. 

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff has described Tuesday's projectiles, as well as those launched July 25 and 31, as short-range ballistic missiles(SRBM).

North Korea is banned from testing SRBMs under United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Washington has downplayed the recent series of provocations, however, emphasizing that short-range missile testing is outside the purview of agreements made between Trump and Kim.

[Photo : YONHAP News]