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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Norks may have shot mid-range missile |
| 2009-07-06 |
| SEOUL (Reuters) - A report said Pyongyang may have shot mid-range missiles in a series fired on Saturday. North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States on its Independence Day, further stoking regional tensions already high due to Pyongyang's nuclear test in May. The North appears to have fired two mid-range Rodong missiles, which can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan, and five Scud missiles, which can strike most of South Korea, Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying. The official said two of the missiles travelled at a greater velocity than the others, indicating they were the Rodong type. "We found five of the seven missiles fell near the same spot in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), which indicates that their accuracy has improved," another official told Yonhap. The missiles flew about 420 kms (260 miles) and it will take a few days to confirm what was fired, the official said. Initial reports on Saturday said all the missiles appeared to be Scuds. The Scud and Rodong are ballistic missiles. North Korea has more than 600 Scud type missiles and 300 Rodong missiles which have been deployed and target U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, defense officials have said. Japan is considering introducing a new ground-based missile defense system to complement interceptors it currently has, the Japanese daily Mainichi reported. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Well yeah, Reuters is trying to decide if the NORKs launched them or if it was an evil CIA plot. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2009-07-06 08:04 |
| #1 "May have?" |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-07-06 02:24 |