YONHAP NEWS

(2nd LD) N. Korea test-fires missiles, draws line ahead of talks: analysts

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles on Monday, a South Korean official said, a move that analysts said appears to be aimed at raising stakes ahead of looming talks with the United States.

   The launches of KN-02 missiles off the east coast came amid speculation in Seoul that a North Korean official is seeking to visit the U.S. in an effort to set up bilateral dialogue.

   They also came hours after South Korea proposed talks aimed at keeping alive the humanitarian program of reuniting families separated by the Korean War that had recently resumed after a two-year lull.

   South Korean analysts said the launches -- the first in three months -- are unlikely to threaten dialogue that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said in his recent meetings with top Chinese officials his regime was willing to engage in.

   But the test-firings of the North's most advanced short-range missiles also demonstrates that Pyongyang is intent on asserting its rights to missile development, they said.

   "This helps the North stake out its position ahead of its talks with the outside world, which raises stakes," Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korean professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said.

   "The fact these are short-range missiles -- not mid- or long-range ones -- shows that the North is still very much interested in talks," Yang Moo-jin at the University of North Korea Studies said. "These may even pass off as part of a routine military drill in the current atmosphere."

   North Korea announced a no-sail zone on both of its coasts from Oct. 10-20, according to a South Korean official at the Ministry of National Defense.

   The official, who declined to be identified citing policy, said two were fired in the morning while the rest in the afternoon. He said the missiles were launched from mobile pads, making it difficult for the South Korean military to locate them.

   Ryu Gil-jae, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea is declaring it is not to be taken lightly just because it has recently taken a concessionary stance.

   "It's demonstrating its guts," Ryu said, agreeing with the other observers that North Korea will maintain its willingness to engage in both bilateral and multilateral talks over its nuclear programs.

   North Korea, which conducted its second nuclear test in May and launched a long-range rocket in defiance of international warnings in April, is under harsh U.N. sanctions for its behavior.

   The country earlier quit six-nation talks aimed at compensating it with diplomatic and economic benefits for its denuclearization, but has recently signaled it could reverse course.

   "The missile launches won't reverse the growing mood of dialogue in the region," Yang said.

   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on the launches, said her country will continue to work toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, news reports said.

   The U.S. has said it will agree to one-on-one dialogue with the communist state if it leads to the resumption of the six-party talks, which also include South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.

   samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)