North Korean missiles fired into sea
North Korea fired two short-range missiles into its coastal waters, a move believed to be part of regular military drills, South Korean military officials said today.
An official at South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the missiles, fired yesterday into the waters off the North’s western coast, were believed to have a range of about 60 miles.
Another official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were probably “part of regular military drills”.
Communist North Korea’s arsenal includes a variety of missiles, some believed to be able to reach parts of the United States.
The latest missile launches were not expected to heighten regional tensions, because they demonstrated no new threat from the North.
Still, the North has in the past used such actions to signal its impatience with the international community, and to make sure Pyongyang gets the attention it feels it deserves.
Washington called the launches “not constructive”.
“The United States and our allies believe that North Korea should refrain from testing missiles,” said US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, accompanying US President George Bush to the G8 summit in Germany.
Johndroe said the North “should focus on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and fulfill its obligations” under a February agreement to shut down its sole nuclear reactor.
South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported today that the missiles were land-to-ship models, and were launched from Chungsan on the North’s western coast.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said North Korea had issued a warning banning ships from its western waters since Tuesday.
North Korea carried out an underground nuclear test explosion on October 9, but experts do not believe it has a bomb design advanced enough to be placed atop a missile.
The missiles launched yesterday were the second barrage fired by the North in two weeks.
Last month, it fired at least one short-range missile into waters of its eastern coast, which South Korean and US official played down as part of routine military drills.
The latest launch comes amid the latest deadlock in nuclear talks with the North, which missed a mid-April deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor under an agreement with the US and other regional powers.
North Korea has refused to act until it receives $25m (€18.5m) in funds that were frozen in Macau’s Banco Delta Asia.
The money has been freed for release, but the North has yet to withdraw it. It is apparently waiting for an electronic transfer to ensure the funds are clean.
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said Seoul and its partners in the six-nation nuclear talks – which involve the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan – were exploring solutions to resolve the financial dispute.
