North Korea Fires Missiles Into Sea

By KYONG-AE CHOI And ALASTAIR GALE

SEOUL—North Korea fired three short-range missiles Saturday into the sea off the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, stirring tensions that had appeared to ease in the wake of a recent series of threats directed at South Korea and the U.S.

The missiles posed no danger to neighboring countries. Analysts said the launches were likely intended as a protest against joint South Korean-U.S. naval drills earlier this week.

South Korea's defense ministry said that North Korea had fired two missiles into waters off the Korean peninsula in the morning, followed by a third missile in the afternoon.

"In our judgment, the missiles are short-range guided missiles, not midrange missiles such as the Musudan," South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.

Attention has been focused on the deployment of two Musudan missiles on North Korea's east coast last month for an expected test firing. Officials and media reports earlier this month said North Korea had moved the Musudan missiles away from the firing locations.

Rising Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Threats by North Korea against its southern neighbor have escalated, deteriorating fragile relations between Pyongyang and Seoul. The threats are an annual occurrence during military exercises in South Korea but have been particularly vociferous this year.

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The Musudan has a range of up to around 4,000 kilometers (just under 2,500 miles), meaning it could threaten U.S. bases in Guam and Japan. Tokyo put its missile defenses on alert in response to reports of the Musudan deployment.

North Korea launches smaller missiles with ranges of a few hundred miles, such as scud variants, in test firings from its coasts a few times each year. The last reported firing was in March.

North Korea made no immediate statement about the latest launch.

Shin Jong-dae, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the launches were likely a means of drawing attention from the international community.

"North Korea is an expert at crisis diplomacy, or crisis marketing," Mr. Shin said.

The firings come after Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, wrapped up a visit to Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul this week for talks on dealing with North Korea.

Pyongyang's provocations, including threats of attack that escalated in recent months, are widely viewed as an attempt to generate enough fear to prompt other countries to consider concessions on security and aid, a game plan it has used repeatedly in the past.

Those threats peaked during annual military drills held by South Korea and the U.S. through the end of April, exercises that the North portrayed as a prelude to war. The heated rhetoric eased following the end of the drills, but fresh naval exercises this week have prompted renewed warnings of counterattack from Pyongyang.

The latest exercises have been led by the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, a move that North Korea's state media called "a grave military provocation."

The missile launches also come during a low in inter-Korean relations as Pyongyang has rejected repeated calls from Seoul for dialogue over the closed Kaesong Industrial Complex.

The closure of the industrial complex—the last outpost of inter-Korean economic cooperation—in turn followed weeks of near-daily verbal attacks by North Korea against the South and the U.S. after the U.N. imposed tougher sanctions against Pyongyang following its third nuclear test in February.

South Korea said it was monitoring for any further military activity in the North following Saturday's missile launches. "South Korea's military is on high alert to prepare for any hostile acts," ministry spokesman Mr. Kim said.