North Korea Monday to stop what it called "provocative" and potentially dangerous rocket and missile tests, a day after Pyongyang test-fired 25 projectiles into the sea.The North Sunday fired the volley of rockets into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the latest in a series of launches in recent weeks that have sparked criticism from Seoul and Washington.
The show of force is apparently intended to express anger at the South's continuing joint military exercises with its ally the United States.
"The North should stop actions that cause military tension and unnerve its neighbours," Seoul's defence ministry front man Kim Min-Seok told news hounds.
"Provocative action made without any prior notifications... can pose significant danger to sea vessels and aircraft passing by the area," he added.
The South's military was closely watching the North's troop movements, Kim said, citing the possibility of more rocket launches.
The rockets fired on Sunday were ageing versions of Russian-developed Frog rockets, he said, noting that the North fired more than normally expected.
The US State Department called on Pyongyang to refrain from "provocative actions that aggravate tensions".
Beijing expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
earlier this month after the North test-fired a rocket into the flight path of a Chinese airliner.
China's special envoy Wu Dawei arrived in Pyongyang Monday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a brief report which did not specify the trip's purpose.
The annual South Korean-US military drills started in late February and will run until mid-April.
The North has habitually slammed the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises -- along with other military drills south of the border -- as rehearsals for an invasion.
Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive.