Update | North Korea fires four missiles into sea amid US-South Korea drills
Pyongyang's launch, likely of short-range rockets, seen as protest against US-South Korean military exercises or UN rights report
North Korea fired what were believed to be four short-range missiles into waters off its east coast yesterday, South Korean defence officials said.
The action appeared to be a protest at annual US-South Korean military exercises that Pyongyang calls a rehearsal for invasion.
The launch was not expected to raise tensions, as North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles and has recently sought better ties with South Korea in what outside analysts say is an attempt to win badly needed foreign investment and aid. The rival Koreas this month held their first reunions in more than three years of families divided by the Korean war.
It’s ... sending a message – about the drills and ... the recent UN rights report
The projectiles fired were believed to be missiles with a range of more than 200 kilometres, South Korean Defence Ministry officials said.
The officials said they were trying to learn exactly what the North launched, and that the South had bolstered its cross-border monitoring.
Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified military official, reported the North Korean projectiles were suspected to be Scud missiles or an upgraded version of its newly developed surface-to-ship KN-02 missiles.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, said their launch would not be a prelude to provocation.