TOKYO, June 19 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea launched a short-range missile toward the Sea of Japan Tuesday for the third time in 45 days, NHK TV reported citing sources in the Japanese government.
The launch took place at 3:00 p.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT), the Japanese channel said. South Korea's Yonhap agency confirmed the report. Yonhap said the missile was not ballistic.
North Korea test fired a missile on May 25, and another on June 7. In May 2005, the country launched short-range missiles from its eastern coast, and in July 2006 a total of seven missiles, including the Taepodong-2, which has a range of up to 6,000 km (3,700 miles).
A new medium-range missile was demonstrated at a Pyongyang military parade in April, resembling the modernized Soviet SSN-6 Sawfly. Experts put its possible range at 4,000 km (2,500 miles), making it capable of reaching Japan. One North Korean missile flew over Japan into the Pacific Ocean in 1998.
Pyongyang's weapons tests have raised international tensions over the country's nuclear program. The reclusive state is being pushed to meet its February commitments on disarmament, in particular the shutdown of its nuclear reactor in return for aid.
