The US on Sunday called on North Korea to refrain from provocative actions, after South Korea said its neighbour had fired 25 short-range missiles into the sea off the east of the Korean peninsula. We are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, in a brief statement. We once again call on North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions. South Koreas defence ministry reported the launches, the latest in a series that have provoked criticism from Seoul and Washington. The rockets were fired off the Norths eastern coast and flew about 40 miles into the Sea of Japan, said a ministry spokesman. The ministry said 10 rockets were fired at 6:20 pm (0920 GMT, 5.20EDT), and eight more at 8:03 pm. Another seven followed at 9:30 pm. He said: Following the Norths rocket launch our military has maintained a close watch for possible North Korean provocations. The Yonhap news agency earlier reported that 10 short-range missiles were fired. South Korean troops have increased vigilance following a series of launches of rockets or missiles. The activity coincides with annual South Korean-US military exercises that started in February and will run until mid-April. Pyongyang routinely condemns such joint exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, while Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive. theguardian/world/2014/mar/16/north-korea-test-fire-10-rockets-sea-south-defence-ministry
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:54:23 +0000
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