A Silkworm missile, a ballistic missile smaller than the short-range Scud ballistic missile is being launched from a ship on the sea in this file photo. The missile launched by North Korea Friday on the East Sea is presumed to be the Silkworm missile. / Yonhap

By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea test-fired several short-range missiles toward the East Sea on Friday. But the JCS played down the firings as part of regular military exercises.

``We believe the alleged firings were part of the North's annual routine drills, carried out on the eastern and western coasts in the past,’’ the JCS said in a statement. But it stopped short of specifying how many or what kind of missiles North Korea tested.

The missiles were fired from the communist country's east coast, probably in South Hamgyong Province, into the sea.

The missiles are believed to be surface-to-ship, according to several reports, possibly North Korea’s response to South Korea’s launch of its first Aegis ballistic missile system-equipped destroyer at a shipyard. Seoul became the fifth country armed with the technology, which will enhance its ability to locate, track and shoot down North Korean aircraft and missiles.

Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, reported that the missiles were shorter-range, and were not North Korea's existing Rodong or Taepodong I ballistic missiles, adding that the missiles were surface-to-ship types.

Meanwhile, the government said that the missiles are not directly related to the North’s development of new missiles and will not affect the inter-Korean relations and the six-party talks, aimed at resolving North Korea’s nuclear weapons problems.

An official at the Unification Ministry said on condition of anonymity that the missiles are believed to be short-range and were fired as part of regular military exercises.

Another military source said that the firings were considered to be part of a routine drill but didn’t exclude the possibility that Pyongyang wanted to show off Seoul’s new missile destroyer.

The firing came four days before South Korea opens the latest round of ministerial talks on Tuesday but the government officials said that the talks will be held as planned despite the missile launch.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan's patience with North Korea was wearing thin, although he downplayed the communist state's missile tests, the AFP reported.

Abe said he had seen ``various information’’ on North Korea's launches of missiles Friday, saying, ``I can't provide details of this information, but there is no grave problem for Japan's security.’’

In July last year, North Korea test-launched seven missiles that landed in the East Sea, the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, despite repeated international warnings not to do so. The missile tests prompted the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution slapping weapons-related sanctions on the North.

The North has said the missile tests are part of its military exercises, saying it has the right to test weapons at its own discretion.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr