North Korea fired off short-range missiles into the East Sea on Friday amid heightened tension following its February nuclear test, a military source in Seoul said.
"A North Korean military unit on drill test-fired two shots of short-range missiles, presumed to be KN-02 missiles, into the East Sea" the source said.
The source did not say the exact time of the launching.
"The launch was seen as testing its capability for short-range missiles. It seemed to be conducted on a military-unit level, not at a national level."
North Korea is ratcheting up war rhetoric almost daily in response to the U.N. Security Council's adoption of new sanctions for the country's Feb. 12 nuke test.
Pyongyang is believed to have more than 1,000 missiles -- most of which are able to strike South Korea -- and some are capable of hitting Japanese and U.S. military bases in this region. The KN-02 missiles, an upgraded version of SS-21 short-range missiles, are estimated to have a range of about 120 kilometers.
The South Korean military source said the North's missile launch appears to be in response to the joint South Korea-U.S. Foal Eagle and Key Resolve military exercises that began on Monday.
According to North Korean media reports, the North's leader Kim Jong-un oversaw artillery exercises this week that targeted two South Korean frontline islands in the Yellow Sea.
Meanwhile, North Korea warned that it would be advisable for residents in several islands near the maritime border in the Yellow Sea to evacuate, according to Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's propaganda Web site.
In November 2010, North Korea launched artillery shelling on South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island near the tense maritime border. The attack killed four people, including two civilians, and injured 18 others.
The year of 2013 also marks the third anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean navy ship by Pyongyang's torpedo attack in the Yellow Sea, killing nearly 50 sailors.
북한의 3차 핵실험 이후 한반도 안보위기가 지속되는 가운데 북한이 15일 오후 동해의 공해상으로 단거리 미사일을 시험 발사했다.
군 소식통은 이날 '동해 지역에서 화력훈련을 하는 북한군이 KN-02로 추정되는 미사일을 두 발 공해상으로 시험 발사했다'면서 '단거리 미사일 성능을 시험하기 위한 것으로 보인다'고 말했다.
이 소식통은 '이번 단거리 미사일 발사는 북한 국가급 훈련의 일환은 아니며 각 부대 단위 훈련 차원에서 이뤄진 것으로 보인다'고 밝혔다.
북한은 KN-02 지대지 미사일의 사거리를 늘려 지대공 미사일인 KN-06으로 개량하기 위해 시험발사를 계속하는 것으로 알려졌다. KN-02는 구 소련제 단거리 미사일인 SS-21을 개량한 고체연료형 이동식 미사일로 최대사거리는 120㎞다.
앞서 북한 김정은 국방위원회 제1위원장은 13일 연평도와 백령도를 겨냥한 포사격 훈련을 참관했다.
군 당국은 이런 화력 훈련과 미사일 시험발사 등이 지난 11일 시작된 한미 키리졸브 연습에 대응하는 무력시위로 해석하고 있다.
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