North Korea test-fires 4 short-range missiles off east coast

Friday 03rd July, 05:15 AM JST

SEOUL —

North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday into the Sea of Japan, the South Korean Defense Ministry and military officials said. The missiles appeared to be surface-to-ship missiles, ministry spokesman Won Tae Jae said, according to Yonhap News Agency. ‘‘One was fired at 5:20 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m. from Sinsang-ni’’ near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, he was quoted as saying. The North fired a third missile and fourth at 7:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. from Sinsang-ni.

The first three missiles are estimated to have landed about 100 kilometers off the coast. South Korea is continuing to analyze the launches. North Korea last launched a short-range missile on May 29. On June 22, North Korea issued a navigation restriction to the Japan Coast Guard for vessels passing through waters off its eastern coast in the Sea of Japan over a self-claimed military exercise. The ban covers an area about 450 km in length and 110 km wide along the coast of Wonsan from June 25 until July 10 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Japan time. According to a ministry official, the landing points of the missiles launched Thursday are considered to be in that zone. According to a senior Japanese government official, at least one missile apparently landed in an area of the Sea of Japan that is included in the restricted area. The U.N. Security Council last month unanimously adopted a resolution to punish North Korea for its second nuclear test in late May, centering on tougher financial sanctions and the stricter enforcement of North Korean cargo inspections.

Kyodo

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Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

OssanAmerica at 12:06 PM JST - 3rd July

smith...Both Skorea and Japan have this silly country as a neighbor, and both countries are constantly being told they are going to be turned into a sea of blood and/or fire. They are both acting prudently as any country would under the circumstances and neither of them, to their credit are "playing into" NKorea's hands. As usual only you could turn NKorea's provocative actions condemned by the entire world into criticism of Japan and SKorea. Congrats.
tuneintokyo at 12:31 PM JST - 3rd July

It's about time NK is punished for their actions. And I'm not talking about the silent treatment either.
teleprompter at 12:41 PM JST - 3rd July

Wash Times (july 2) eviscerates Obama and the wishful thinking Utopians out there:

"So a Democrat commander-in-chief is going to deploy the same weapon system for which he's slashed funding, which his party has mocked for decades, which his party has ruthlessly tried to kill, and which their partners in the media derided as "Star Wars" and claimed "would never work"."
stirfry at 12:57 PM JST - 3rd July

read something interesting the other day on wsj.com...NK officially renounced the peace treaty they signed to end the korean war...technically that's their right, as a soverign nation...that means that they're still, AT THEIR OWN CHOOSING, at war with both SK and the US, who both also signed the treaty...so firing one or 2 back at them would only be self-defense
haitkayomccombs at 01:08 PM JST - 3rd July

And determined that 50 year old technology still works.
IfeelImust at 01:11 PM JST - 3rd July

I think it's time to show Kim and his bunch some teeth, instead of barking and growling! UN sanctions are obviously a complete wast of time, Why wasn't the ship, shadowed for a week stopped and searched? Time to grab the horn by the balls, I think. But then what threat does NK have for the US and Europe? Of course they have no oil so no threat at all!
jackseoul at 01:47 PM JST - 3rd July

Everything people have been saying to do to NK has already been said and done... except actually intervening militarily. Much of what the Int'l community has been saying they'll do is mostly bravado anyway. Jong Il is a mad hatter and no one knows what he is fully capable of. This makes it a guessing game as always.

The only thing that can ever be done to regimes like this and succeed is to keep the promise of military intervention... live or die. NK is that kid at school who feels safe mouthing off within the school fences, but when he sees you face to face, he can't stop peeing his pants. It's NK's other friends who casts a big shadow of protection.
kyourin at 02:24 PM JST - 3rd July

a-bomb NK before it could do any damage
OzKen at 02:40 PM JST - 3rd July

Japan should really just convert some of its fissile material into nuclear weapons. Time for Japan to become pro-active.
norinrad21 at 02:58 PM JST - 3rd July

Attention seekers
Netgaijin at 03:19 PM JST - 3rd July

Is he just plain evil, unbelievable stupid or is there a reason for doing this? WHAT THE BLEEP IS HIS PROBLEM, this Kim guy?
Netgaijin at 03:20 PM JST - 3rd July

unbelievably, I meant..
mareo2 at 03:55 PM JST - 3rd July

I agree with bamboohat that is more for get internal support from the generals to the next king. Anti-waship missiles is for feel safe against an invasion. When they try to impres other countries, they use missiles that can deliver WMDs or subterranean nuclear detonations. What they tested can be countered with technology that modern navies already have, like the Phalanx CIWS anti-Anti-missile sytem on the Aegis destroyers.
nandakandamanda at 11:13 PM JST - 3rd July

The red flags fly until 10th July according to the article. I think they may have lit the long fuse on something bigger for tomorrow. Must be praying for sunny weather.
30061015 at 11:40 PM JST - 3rd July

The irony is that with every missile NK fires and every nuke test, they will at some point become the arena to test the next generation of US weapons. Hope Im wrong, but I don't see a happy end to this one.