North Korea launches 16 more short-range rockets into sea
23 March 2014, 09:03 -- North Korea fired 16 short-range rockets off its eastern coast Sunday for the second straight day, the South's military command said. It was the latest in a series of sabre-rattling actions since February in apparent response to ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.
On Saturday, the North fired 30 surface-to-surface rockets from the same test site in the eastern city of Wonsan, without giving any advance notice for civilian flights or vessels, Yonhap news agency reported.
The South's military command said the rockets were launched into the sea at a distance of about 60 kilometres. 'The military has maintained vigilance against additional launches,' the Joints Chiefs of Staff said. The US-South Korea military exercises are scheduled to run through April 18.Pyongyang perceives the joint drills as a provocation and preparation for an invasion.
N Korea launches 30 short-range rockets in fourth round of missile tests
North Korea launched 30 short-range rockets on Saturday in the fourth round of missile launches this month, South Korea said. The rockets were launched within a matter of hours from North Korea's east coast and flew about 60 kilometres towards the open ocean, the South Korean military said.
It said it believes the missiles were Soviet-developed, surface-to-surface FROG rockets.
The launches were conducted a month after the start of annual joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that North Korea describes as training for an invasion.
They also occurred a week after North Korea fired 25 rockets into the Sea of Japan. The South Korean military believed those also to be FROG missiles.
Seoul said it considers the recent launches a warning from North Korea about the ongoing military manoeuvres, which are scheduled to end April 18.
North Korea has also recently tested Scud missiles with a range that could exceed 500 kilometres as well as multistage rockets.
Voice of Russia, dpa
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