North Korea Launches Two Missiles

March 2, 2014 8:11 p.m. ET

North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast Monday, on the same day it freed Australian missionary John Short. The WSJ’s Ramy Inocencio speaks with South Korea Bureau Chief Alastair Gale about Pyongyang’s motivations.

SEOUL—North Korea on Monday launched two short-range missiles into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, South Korean defense authorities said.
A defense ministry official in Seoul confirmed the firings occurred at 6:19 a.m. (2119 GMT) at its missile launch site in the southeastern region of Kittaeryong. These are the second firing of missiles in a few days.
“The two missiles flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast and landed in waters off (the North Korean eastern coastal city of) Wonsan,” the official said, giving no further details.
The latest missile launch followed the North’s Feb. 27 firings of four short-range missiles off the same launch site of Kittaeryong, which were aimed in a similar direction.
Analysts and officials in Seoul see the firings as a protest at ongoing South Korean-U.S. joint military exercises.

This picture taken by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 25 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at an official conference in Pyongyang. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

U.S. and South Korean forces kicked off joint annual drills on Feb. 24 in and around the Korean peninsula. The drills consist of two parts–a command-post exercise called Key Resolve that will run through March 3 and a field training called Foal Eagle that will last until April 18.
Washington and Seoul say the annual exercises are purely for defense, but Pyongyang claims the joint military maneuvers are a prelude to an invasion of North Korea.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

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