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North Korea tested two missiles, says S Korean ministry

North Korea test-fired short-range missiles yesterday, less than two weeks after its previous launch, the South Korean defense ministry said.

"It is true that North Korea tested short-range missiles today [yesterday]," a spokesman said.

He declined to give details.

An intelligence source told Yonhap news agency that the North had fired two missiles into the Yellow Sea, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

They are believed to be ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missiles with a range of some 100km, the source said. Both landed in North Korean waters.

"It is one of the routine missile tests North Korea carries out every year," the source said.

"We consider today's launch as part of routine military training as was the May 25 launch," the source said.

The May launching into the Sea of Japan was the first such test in nearly a year. South Korea, Japan and the US played down its significance, calling it part of routine military exercises.

But the tests come at a sensitive time as US and other negotiators are struggling to settle a banking row which is blocking a start to the North's promised nuclear disarmament.

The launch last month came on the same day South Korea launched its first AEGIS destroyer, which is equipped with advanced defenses against air and sea attack.

Analysts said at the time the launch may have been timed to coincide with that event, or might be an expression of frustration at the delay in solving the banking row.

Under a six-nation February pact, the North agreed to disable its nuclear program in return for massive aid and diplomatic benefits.

But Pyongyang refuses to make a start until it receives US$25 million which had been frozen in a Macau bank since 2005 at US instigation.

The US says the funds have been freed but the North has been unable to find a foreign bank willing to make the transfer.

Meanwhile, White House National Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said yesterday that North Korea's missile test activity was "not constructive" and Pyongyang should focus on dismantling its nuclear program.

"The United States and our allies believe that North Korea should refrain from testing missiles," Johndroe told reporters on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Germany.
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