North Korea on Thursday fired two short-range missiles, fuelling tensions sparked by its nuclear stand-off, as a US team began talks in China on ways to make UN sanctions bite against Pyongyang. The missiles were launched in the early evening from a base near the eastern port of Wonsan, South Korea's defence ministry said.
"They appear to be ground-to-ship missiles, which were launched into the East Sea (Sea of Japan)," a spokesman told AFP. "We have no detailed information now but there have been preparations for missile launches in the region." The North has responded angrily to United Nations sanctions imposed following its long-range rocket launch on April 5 and a May 25 nuclear test, and vowed to bolster its defences.
It warned Japan Wednesday to stay clear of some areas off its east and west coasts during military exercises lasting until July 11. South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, quoting an intelligence source, said the North in coming days is likely to fire a series of short-range missiles.
Apart from ground-to-ship weapons with a range of 140 kilometres (88 miles), it said these would likely include Scud-B missiles with a range of 340 km. The North may also fire Rodongs, whose 1,300-km range would likely be shortened to some 400 km for the current round of testing, the paper predicted.