20.05 N. Korea Fires Missiles for Third Day
TOKYO, May 20 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea launched another two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan on Monday, marking the third straight day of firings, South Korea's defense ministry said, Yonhap reported.
Both appeared to be KN-02 surface-to-surface missiles, a ministry official said. "We are closely watching the movements of the North's military in case of further launches," he was quoted by Yonhap as saying.
The latest missile, which was fired from a mobile launcher off North Korea's east coast, flew about 120 kilometers (72 miles) in a northeasterly direction before falling into the sea, officials said.
North Korea has launched a total of six short-range projectiles in the past three days, including three on Saturday and one on Sunday.
"We are currently trying to determine what the projectile was and the North's intentions (behind the launch)," Yonhap quoted another military official as saying. "It appears that the North is trying to renew military tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
South Korea urged Pyongyang to stop aggravating the situation on the peninsula.
"Whether it's a test-firing or armed demonstration, North Korea should not engage in tension-creating acts," Kim Jang-soo, head of the national security office, was quoted by Yonhap as saying.
Pyongyang said the missile launches were "a routine military exercise, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
"Conducting military drills to build up a strong deterrence capability is a legitimate right of any sovereign country," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea stated.
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 Koreas test of a long-range Taepodong 2 missile in December and its third nuclear test in February, to which the UN responded with sanctions.
