North Korea has fired five short-range missiles off its east coast and declared a “no sail” zone in the area until Oct. 20, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying yesterday.
South Korean government officials were not immediately available for comment.
The latest launches, the first in about three months, come as Pyongyang said it was ready to return to international talks on its nuclear weapons program, though it has insisted on holding talks first with the US.
It was not clear whether these were routine military exercises. They coincided with local media reports that the US is planning to send its aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the South Korean port of Busan today.
The reclusive North has hundreds of short-range range missiles, with the ability to strike Seoul and its sprawling urban surroundings — home to around 25 million people.
A nuclear test in May and a spate of missile tests around the same time triggered tighter sanctions against the North, whose desperate economic straits some analysts believe are behind recent attempts improve relations with the outside world.
A UN resolution bans North Korea from launching ballistic missiles, but there are no international agreements that bar it from test-launching short-range missiles.
Also See: South Korea seeks cross-border talks with Pyongyang
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