North Korea test-fired a barrage of missiles yesterday, including a long-range weapon said to be capable of reaching Alaska, ratcheting up tensions in Northeast Asia and drawing international condemnation.
At least six missiles were launched early in the morning and a seventh some 12 hours later, officials in Japan and South Korea said. Russia said North Korea fired 10 missiles, but the report from a senior general could not be immediately confirmed.
The long-range Taepodong-2 missile apparently failed 40 seconds into its flight, US officials said. Japanese and South Korean officials said the missiles fell into the sea separating the Korean Peninsula from Japan.
The US warned North Korea against any more provocative acts, and said Washington would take necessary measures to protect itself and its allies.
"The United States strongly condemns these missile launches and North Korea's unwillingness to heed calls for restraint from the international community," White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement.
The missile launches "demonstrate North Korea's intent to intimidate other states by developing missiles of increasingly longer ranges," Snow said.
"We are consulting with international partners on next steps," he added.
The UN Security Council was to meet later in the day, at Japan's request, to discuss the latest move by Pyongyang, a French spokesman at the UN said.
Japan called for the Security Council meeting, which was due to start at 1400 GMT on Wednesday, and has urged China and South Korea to support its efforts to broker a UN resolution against North Korea's missile launches.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso held separate telephone conversations with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇星) to garner support for Tokyo's efforts to persuade the council to adopt a resolution.
The US, meanwhile, announced it would dispatch its top envoy on Asian affairs, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, to the region for talks, while South Korea's national security adviser was due at the White House.
"You're going to see a lot of diplomatic activity here over the next 24-48 hours," White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on a conference call late on Tuesday.
Hadley said the multiple firings might have been an attempt by Pyongyang to steal the spotlight away from Iran, which has been the main focus of US nuclear diplomacy in recent months.
"Obviously, it is a bit of an effort to get attention, perhaps because so much attention has been focused on the Iranians," Hadley told reporters.
But he said it was impossible to be sure about Pyongyang's motives.
North Korea, whose government pays close attention to symbolic gestures, chose to launch the missiles as the US was marking its July 4 Independence Day.
"It got everybody's attention on the Fourth of July. [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-il can set off fireworks, too," said John Pike, director of the security Web site GlobalSecurity.org.
North Korean media made no mention of the multiple launches, Japanese reporters in Pyongyang said. State radio led its bulletins on Kim Jong-il's visit to a tire factory, they said.
Experts say the Taepodong-2 has a possible range of 3,500km to 4,300km.
Japan said it would consider immediate economic sanctions against North Korea. The government banned visits by North Korean ferries for six months.
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