N Korea Fires 7 Missiles Into Sea Of Japan

SEOUL (Kyodo)--North Korea fired seven missiles, all believed to be short- or intermediate-range types, toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday from its southeastern region, South Korean military officials said.

Pyongyang's actions are seen to be a clear expression of its stern posture against the United States, Japan, South Korea and other members of the international community that have stepped up pressure on the country through U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launches.

The Japanese and South Korean governments separately condemned the missile launches as provocative actions that are in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The South Korean military believes the missiles flew about 400-500 kilometers offshore before falling into the Sea of Japan.

South Korean media said that the missiles may be short-range Scud types with a range capability of 300-500 km, while Japanese and South Korean government sources said they could be Rodong intermediate-range missiles that were flown distances shorter than their range of about 1,300 km.

North Korea fired six ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan between 8 a.m. and 4:10 p.m., and the seventh, believed to also be a ballistic missile, at around 5:40 p.m., according to the South Korean military.

Speculation had been rife that the North may launch missiles on the occasion of Independence Day in the United States on Saturday.

The ballistic missile launches came after Pyongyang test-fired four surface-to-ship missiles off its east coast into the Sea of Japan last Thursday.

North Korea is believed to have an arsenal of 600 Soviet-era short-range Scud-B and Scud-C missiles, deployed since the 1980s.

The Scud-C, with a range of 500 km, is an updated version of the Soviet-made Scud-B missiles, which have a range of 300 km. Both types of missiles are launched from vehicles.