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N. Korean short-range missiles aimed at provoking S. Korea: spokesman
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- The set of four short-range missiles North Korea test-fired off its east coast earlier this week appear to be aimed at provoking South Korea, an official here said Friday.
"We believe the firing was conducted with regard to the relations" between the two Koreas, South Korean defense spokesman Won Tae-jae said. "Unless it is a mid-range missile or a longer-range one, we believe it is aimed at South Korea."
Speculation that North Korea is setting the mood to test-launch a mid- or long-range missile around July 4 -- Independence Day in the U.S. -- is not being taken seriously among military officials in Seoul, Won said.
"This is only speculation. We don't see it as carrying military significance," he said.
On July 5 in 2006, North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile that fizzled soon after takeoff. Analysts said the launch of the missile, theoretically capable of hitting Alaska, was aimed at grabbing the attention of the U.S. administration.
North Korea and the U.S. are members of six-nation talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea through aid and diplomatic benefits. Pyongyang, which conducted its second nuclear test on May 25 this year, has scrapped the negotiations.
North Korea is under a wide-ranging arms embargo imposed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that was passed last month to punish the communist state for its latest nuclear test.
The North launched four short-range anti-ship missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, defying the resolution, which bans the testing of such weapons.
The firing came hours after the talks between the two Koreas over the fate of a joint industrial park in a North Korean border city came to an end without a breakthrough.
"Short-range missiles are the most useful (weapons) in the event of a conflict between the Koreas," Won said.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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