Seoul refuses to comment on report of rival's next test

South Korea's military and intelligence agencies refused to comment yesterday on a report that North Korea may be planning another missile test.

Quoting unnamed intelligence sources, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that the North test-fired only one short-range missile on Friday off its east coast and may follow up from its west.

First indications Friday had been that Pyongyang fired several missiles from both the west and east.

Yonhap said the North did not proceed with a test on the west coast because of the presence of fishing vessels, but a ban on sailing in the area remained in force and could indicate another try.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) declined to comment on the report yesterday. So did the defense ministry.

"All we can say is that the firing is part of the military training that North Korea has been annually carrying out in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] and the East Sea [Sea of Japan]," an NIS spokesman said yesterday. "We cannot comment on other details, all confidential."

Friday's missile test was the first in almost a year. Seoul confirmed the short-range launch but did not say how many had been fired.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has no problem flying, crisscrossing the country on military planes, contrary to popular belief that he avoids air travel at all cost, a South Korean expert said.

Media reports and diplomats have said Kim -- like his late father -- has a debilitating aversion to flying and almost always travels by train or motorcade under tight secrecy.

"Not much has been known about Kim Jong-il's air travel, but when you look at his movement on field guidance at military bases, he doesn't seem to have a particular aversion to flying," said Ko Jae-hong of the Institute for National Security Strategy. "The common talk about Kim Jong-il not flying probably applies only when he's going abroad."