North Korea test-fired another
short-range missile off its east coast Friday, and threatened to take
retaliatory action if the United Nations imposes sanctions for its
latest nuclear test.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quotes a
South Korean official as saying the North launched a "new type" of
land-to-air missile from its Musudan-ni launch site. It was the sixth
short-range missile North Korea has fired since its nuclear test
Monday.
North Korea's state-run news agency warned Friday of
what it called "further self-defense measures" if there is, in its
words, "further provocation" by the U.N. Security Council.
The
Council is considering possible new sanctions against Pyongyang. These
could include expanding an arms embargo, and placing restrictions on
financial and banking regulations.
U.S. Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said the situation is not a crisis and there is no need to
increase troop numbers in South Korea. He spoke Friday on a flight to
Singapore for a regional security meeting.
Pyongyang
announced this week it was no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that
ended fighting in the Korean War. And it warned South Korea it would
take military action if Seoul and the United States made any move to
intercept North Korean vessels under a U.S.-led effort (Proliferation
Security Initiative) to prevent the spread of weapons of mass
destruction.
The move prompted South Korean and U.S. forces on
the Korean peninsula to raise their alert level to its highest level
since 2006, when the North conducted its first nuclear test.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
News
