North Korea Still Firing Away

Launches missiles for third consecutive day
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2013 6:27 AM CDT
North Korea Still Firing Away
South Korean men watch a TV news program reporting missile launch conducted by North Korea, at a Seoul train station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 20, 2013.   (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korea launched two more short-range missiles into the sea today, the third consecutive day of launches since three missiles were test-fired Saturday and a fourth yesterday. Pyongyang, not surprisingly, today blamed recent joint US-South Korea military exercises, Reuters reports. "Our military is conducting these exercises in order to cope with the mounting war measures from the US and South Korea, which is the legitimate right of any sovereign country," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said, according to state media.

The first missile launched today is believed to be a KN-02 surface-to-surface missile, a South Korean defense ministry official says. It flew about 75 miles before dropping into the sea, Yonhap News reports; the first four projectiles are thought to have the same range. A second missile was launched this afternoon, the New York Times adds. South Korea is still calling for the North to cut it out, but a defense ministry official notes, "We remain vigilant for the possibility that the North may launch more" missiles and rockets. (More North Korea stories.)

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