SEOUL: North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of UN resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day.
The launches, which came two days after North Korea fired what were believed to be four short-range cruise missiles, will likely further escalate tensions in the region as the US tries to muster support for tough enforcement of the latest UN Security Council resolution imposed on the communist regime for its May nuclear test.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said three missiles were fired early Saturday, a fourth around noon and three more in the afternoon. The Defense Ministry said that the missiles were ballistic and are believed to have flown more than 400 km. “Our military is fully ready to counter any North Korean threats and provocations based on strong South Korea-US combined defense posture,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the first three appeared to be Rodong missiles while the rest were an upgraded version of Scud-C missiles, citing intelligence authorities.
Scud-C missiles have a range of up to 500 km, which could hit most of South Korea. The Rodong has a range of up to 1,300 km, putting most parts of Japan within striking distance. Yonhap said, however, that the range of the Rodong missiles launched Saturday had been reduced.
UN resolutions ban North Korea from firing Scuds, medium-range missiles or long-range missiles. Among the UN measures is Resolution 1874, passed after North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test, that prohibits any launch using ballistic missile technology.
Thursday’s missile launches, on the other hand, did not violate the resolution, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyzes, said they were believed to be cruise missiles.
Ballistic missiles are guided during their ascent out of the atmosphere but fall freely when they descend. Cruise missiles fly low and straight to their target.
Yonhap said North Korea was pulling out personnel from its missile launch site and was allowing ships to sail again in waters off its east coast — an indication no more missiles would be launched in the near future.
The United States urged North Korea not to “aggravate tensions” as it called Pyongyang’s latest missile launch “not helpful.” “North Korea should refrain from actions that aggravate tensions and focus on denuclearization talks and the implementation of its commitments from the Sept. 19, 2005 joint statement,” said State Department spokesman Karl Duckworth.
