North Korea launches another short-range missile - report

PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korea launched on Sunday, May 19 another short-range missile, a day after firing three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, Yonhap news agency reported, referring to South Korea’ Defense Ministry, according to RIA Novosti.

The missile was reportedly launched in the second half of the day from North Korea’s eastern coast and fell into the Sea of Japan. There were no reports about the exact time of the launch or the type of the missile.

North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the waters off its eastern coast on Saturday.

"A more detailed analysis will be needed but the missiles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or the KN-02 surface-to-surface missile derived from the Soviet-era SS-21 that has a range of about 120 kilometers," Yonhap cited a Seoul official as saying.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said it had increased its monitoring of North Korea and was on standby to deal with any further developments.

The missiles are believed to have been launched from North Korea’s eastern coast and fallen in the Japanese Sea. Japan confirmed that North Korea had fired missiles, but said none of them had landed in Japan’s territorial waters.

Analysts suggested that the missile launches were part of military drills. Pyongyang routinely test-launches such missiles, but the latest tests followed several weeks of relative calm on the Korean Peninsula after tensions escalated earlier this year, following North Korea’s test of a long-range Taepodong 2 missile in December and its third nuclear test in February, to which the UN responded with sanctions.