SEOUL, SATURDAY (AFP)-North Korea test-fired four ballistic missiles Saturday, on the eve of US Independence Day celebrations, South Korean officials said, further fuelling regional tensions amid its nuclear standoff.
Seoul's foreign ministry said all four of the weapons launched into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) were ballistic missiles, which the North is banned from firing under UN Security Council resolutions.
It was the first time in three years that the communist state fired multiple ballistic missiles.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles had a range of between 400 and 500 km (250-312 miles) but declined to say what type they were.
Yonhap news agency said they were either Scuds, or Rodong-1 missiles whose range of 1,000-1,300 km had been shortened.
The North on Thursday test-fired four short-range missiles with a range of 120 km into the Sea of Japan.
The latest launches, between 8 am (2300 GMT Friday) and noon, were seen as more provocative since the missiles could potentially reach most of South Korea, and possibly parts of Japan. |
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