North Korea ‘fires short-range missiles’
North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into its eastern waters, a South Korean official verbally expressed, the latest in a series of launches staged in an ostensible show of force ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the South.
The Defence Ministry official, who verbalized on condition of anonymity citing department rules, verbally expressed the missiles were fired from Wonsan on Sunday and were surmised to be short-range ballistic missiles.
The official verbalized North Korea fired the missiles without designating no-sail zones, which the South Korean military viewed as provocative.
South Korean media quoted officials as saying the projectiles appeared to be Scud missiles.
North Korea customarily test-fires missiles and ordnance, both to refine its weapons and to express its anger over sundry developments in Seoul and Washington.
In recent days North Korea criticised alleged South Korean ordnance firing drills near a disputed maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea that has been the scene of several bloody skirmishes between the rival nations in recent years.
Sunday’s missile launches came days afore the bellwether of North Korea’s only major ally, Chinese President Xi Jinping, is set to meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Seoul and Beijing have long pressed North Korea to forsake its nuclear weapons ambitions.
