NORTH KOREA: North Korea fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan in a test yesterday, underlining the nuclear threat the Stalinist enclave poses to the region and heightening tensions over the ongoing nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula.
Japanese media reported that the North Koreans fired the missile from its east coast. It was believed to have had a likely range of around 100km (60 miles) and a government source said the rocket was of "very short range and no danger to Japan".
The Japanese government believes the missile may have been a land-to-ship or small ballistic missile. The reports did not say whether the launch was a test.
Washington said the launch of the missile was a sign that North Korea was trying to be "the bullies in the world".
Six-party talks aimed at ending the reclusive state's nuclear programme have been stalled for almost a year, and recent efforts to restart them have shown little progress.
Washington warned the International Atomic Energy Agency that North Korea has been preparing for an underground nuclear test since March and could carry it out as early as June. And the chief US negotiator to stalled talks said Washington believed North Korea might be trying to harvest material for a nuclear bomb from a shut-down reactor.
North Korea has occasionally test-fired short-range missiles before. In 1998, it fired a long-range missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean, rattling the Japanese government.
The North has also tested and deployed a missile with a range of about 1,000km (600 miles), and the head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency said recently that North Korea might have mastered the technology for mounting a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of hitting the US.
The North Koreans insist they need nuclear weapons to face down the growing threat of invasion from the US, which has repeatedly referred to the country as one of the worst offenders in President George W Bush's "axis of evil".
North Korea is effectively bankrupt and has suffered food shortages for many years. It wants economic compensation and security guarantees in return for abandoning its nuclear programme.