A North Korean official said on Friday its latest missile launch was part of "normal" military exercises and should not be seen as a threat, while a South Korean ministry reportedly said there could be more tests soon.
US officials have criticised Thursday's firing of up to two short-range missiles and urged Pyongyang to focus on its nuclear disarmament, something it agreed to in February but has yet to begin implementing. South Korea has played down the significance of the launch.
"It was part of normal military exercises," Jong Dok-ki, vice chairman of the North's Council of National Reconciliation, told Reuters in an interview. There was no reason for it to raise any alarm, he said in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, where more than 500 South Korean Buddhist monks and followers were making a pilgrimage to a local temple.
Thursday's missile launch was the second in as many weeks. "The South has nothing at all to worry about as far as our missiles are concerned," Jong said, adding that any country was entitled to conduct military drills.
"All this is designed to protect the nation." Japan's Kyodo news agency reported later in the day that the South Korean Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry urged maritime police and other authorities to alert fishing boats and other vessels because North Korea could test-fire more missiles.
The ministry said North Korea had been conducting military exercises along its western coast since June 6 and the drills were expected to continue until June 15, Kyodo reported.
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