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S. Korea Says North Launches 3 Short-Range Missiles North Korea Reportedly Launches Short-Range Missiles
(about 4 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched three short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. The tests broke the recent relative silence from the North, but the move was much less provocative than what had been feared in the tense weeks after the country’s nuclear test in February.
Short-range tests from North Korea are fairly routine, and as it often has, the North fired the missiles away from South Korea and toward the northeast.
South Korean and American officials have worried that North Korea would cap weeks of bluster after the nuclear blast with the test of a longer-range missile that might show worrisome improvements in Pyongyang’s arsenal. Analysts say that missile, called the Musudan, might be capable of striking as far as Guam, where American troops are stationed. The North has threatened to strike bases there if provoked.
“With the short-range missile tests, North Korea is reminding the United States and South Korea that it can escalate tensions again and follow up with more serious steps if things do not go in the direction it wants,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea analyst at Dongguk University in Seoul.
American and South Korean officials have speculated that the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, might be hoping to force the Obama administration and South Korea to offer major concessions to stop its threats, a move Washington and Seoul have so far been unwilling to take.
Some analysts have also suggested in the past that a missile test might have an upside: allowing Mr. Kim to tell his people he had taken action after months of sensational warnings against Washington and Seoul, but to do so without provoking hostilities.
Two missiles were launched in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, said Kim Min-seok, a ministry spokesman.Two missiles were launched in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, said Kim Min-seok, a ministry spokesman.
“We remain vigilant and prepared in case the launching of these missiles might be followed by a military provocation by the North,” Mr. Kim said.“We remain vigilant and prepared in case the launching of these missiles might be followed by a military provocation by the North,” Mr. Kim said.
Tests of short-range missiles by North Korea are fairly routine. The last such tests were reported in March. North Korea last launched short-range missiles in February and March. Such tests do not draw as much attention as the North’s longer-range ballistic missiles, which the country was barred from launching under United Nations resolutions.
Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula since the North’s launching of a three-stage rocket in December and its third nuclear test in February. The United Nations Security Council responded by tightening sanctions against the North, which drastically escalated its usual bellicose rhetoric, threatening nuclear strikes. In recent months, North Korea has threatened to strike the United States with nuclear missiles, although American intelligence agencies remain divided over how close it has come to mastering such a technology.
Officials in the region have been watching for North Korean missile tests since South Korea detected mobile launch vehicles deployed on the North’s east coast early last month. The vehicles carried intermediate-range missiles known as Musudan, which have never been tested and are believed to be the closest the North has to a missile capable of striking American bases on the Pacific island of Guam, as the North has threatened to do. Officials in the region have been watching for North Korean missile tests since the South detected mobile launching vehicles on the North’s east coast early last month. The vehicles carried Musudan missiles, which have never been tested.
The missiles launched on Saturday did not include a Musudan, officials here said. This month, American officials said North Korea had withdrawn the Musudan launching vehicles, prompting speculation that it wanted to de-escalate tensions or, perhaps, was moving the missiles out of view of spy satellites.
Tensions on the peninsula appear to have decreased in recent weeks, since the United States and South Korea completed their major annual military drills at the end of last month. The drills had angered the North. The tests of the shorter-range missiles followed a summit meeting on May 7 between President Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, in which the two leaders made no new overture toward the North. Glyn T. Davies, the top American envoy on North Korea, completed a trip last week to Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, where he discussed how to deal with the North’s nuclear and missile threats.
Earlier this month, American officials said that North Korea had withdrawn the Musudan mobile launch vehicles, triggering speculation that the North wanted to de-escalate tensions or, perhaps, was moving the missiles out of view of spy satellites. Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula since the North’s launching of a three-stage rocket in December and its third nuclear test in February. The United Nations Security Council responded by tightening sanctions against the North, which sharply escalated its usual bellicose rhetoric, threatening nuclear strikes.
Glyn T. Davies, the top American envoy on North Korea, this week completed a trip to the South Korean capital, Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, where he discussed how to deal with the North’s nuclear and missile threats. Tensions appear to have decreased in recent weeks, however, since the United States and South Korea completed their major annual military drills. The drills had angered the North.
With the apparent easing in tensions, Washington and its allies have recently revived diplomatic efforts to try to get North Korea recommitted to dismantling its nuclear weapons, which the North has recently said it would never give up.