North Korea Tests Two Missiles

Communist Regime Sends Reminder Of Ability To Cause Instability

(AP)  North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles Wednesday, an unsettling reminder of the reclusive communist regime's ability to cause instability in the region where a standoff persists over its nuclear program.

The development underscored the dangers posed by the country's longer-range missiles and professed nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang shocked Tokyo and other nations when it test-fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan in 1998. It has since test-fired short-range missiles many times, including one launched into the Sea of Japan in May. In 2003, North Korea test-fired short-range land-to-ship missiles at least three times during heightened tensions over its nuclear program.

A senior Bush administration official said the U.S. government had independently confirmed that North Korea fired the two surface-to-air missiles.

Japan's Kyodo News agency gave conflicting details about Wednesday's launches, saying a security source in China told it the missiles were fired by mistake in the direction of China and apparently landed in North Korean territory.

However, the agency also quoted a Western military source as saying the missiles were test-fired from North Korea's eastern coast toward the Sea of Japan. At least one missile landed in the sea about 60 miles northeast of the launch site, Kyodo said, citing a Japanese defense official.

"Indications are that North Korea launched two short-range missiles," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in an e-mail to reporters traveling with President Bush. "We have consistently pointed out that North Korea's missile program is a concern that poses a threat to the region and the larger international community," he said.

The White House said Wednesday's launches demonstrated the importance of six-party negotiations aimed at resolving the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

"We work closely with our allies in the region on ballistic missile defense and to maintain a strong deterrent against the threat North Korea poses," McClellan said. "We believe the six-party talks remain the way to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions and deal with the threat from its missile program and activities."

North Korea would be extremely hesitant to do anything to offend China, its last major benefactor, and the type of missiles reportedly fired wouldn't pose much of a threat far beyond its borders. Despite remaining technically at war with South Korea, the sides have embarked on reconciliation efforts since a 2000 summit between their leaders, and many South Koreans don't view the North as a threat.