PYONGYANG: In an apparent response to new UN sanctions imposed after a nuclear test last month, North Korea has fired short-range missiles into the East Sea, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
A North Korean military unit test-fired the missiles presumed to be KN-02, estimated to have a range of about 120 kilometers (74 miles), a report said.
“The launch was seen as testing its capability for short-range missiles. It seemed to be conducted on a military-unit level, not at a national level,” said a military source in Seoul cited by the Yonhap.
The tests came a day after North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw a live-fire artillery drill near the disputed Yellow Sea border with South Korea, as the South’s prime minister visited the flashpoint area.
It comes amidst heightened tensions surrounding Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test.
North Korea has threatened to unleash a second Korean War — backed by nuclear weapons — in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test in February and joint South Korea-US military maneuvers.
