N Korea fires four missiles
2009-07-02 17:06
Seoul - North Korea on Thursday test-fired four short-range missiles, South Korean military officials said, further fuelling tension sparked by its nuclear standoff with the international community.
The missiles - apparently surface-to-ship ones - were fired into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) between 17:20 (08:20 GMT) and 21:20, defence ministry officials were quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
All were fired from a base at Sinsang-ri, near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, a spokesperson reportedly said.
Other officials told the agency on condition of anonymity they landed about 100km off the coast, where the North has imposed a maritime ban until July 11 for what it calls a military drill.
Spokespersons from the defence ministry confirmed the first three firings to AFP, but could not be reached for comment on the fourth.
It was the first military action which the hardline communist state had taken since the United Nations on June 12 imposed tougher sanctions for its May 25 nuclear test.
South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, quoting an intelligence source, said the North in the coming days is likely to fire a series of short-range missiles.
Apart from ground-to-ship weapons, it said these would likely include Scud-B missiles with a range of 340km.
The North may also fire Rodongs, whose 1 300km range would likely be shortened to about 400km for the current round of testing, the paper predicted.
In the days after its atomic test - the second since 2006 - Pyongyang had fired a total of six short-range missiles and renounced the truce in force on the Korean peninsula.
In response to the UN resolution tightening curbs on its missile and atomic activities, it vowed to build more nuclear bombs.