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North Korea 'test-fires missiles' BBC North Korea may have test-fired several short-range missiles off its west coast, South Korea's Yonhap news agency has quoted a source as saying. The unnamed official said Seoul was checking reports that the missiles were fired into the Yellow Sea. Pyongyang test-fired at least one short-range missile at the end of May - off its east coast - as part of what appeared to be military exercises. North Korea's military programme is a major source of international concern. "We are checking an intelligence report that North Korea fired several short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea today," the unidentified official was quoted by Yonhap as saying.
Missed deadline If confirmed, it would be the North's second missile test in two weeks. South Korea confirmed at least one missile was test-fired into the Sea of Japan on 25 May, although earlier reports suggested several had been fired. Both the US and the North's neighbours played down that test, which coincided with the launch of South Korea's first destroyer equipped with US-supplied high-tech Aegis radar. The US State Department described it as a "routine exercise" that would not affect six-party talks regarding the North's nuclear programme. In April, the North missed a deadline to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in return for economic and energy aid. Pyongyang has refused to move forward on the deal until it has access to North Korean funds in a Macau bank, which had been frozen amid claims the money was linked to counterfeiting and money-laundering.
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