North Korea Fires Missiles Into Sea Of Japan

From Reuters:

N.Korea fires missiles; Japan, U.S. downplay impact

By George Nishiyama

North Korea fired several short-range missiles on Friday morning, even as the United States sounded optimistic about getting six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear arms program back on track.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe downplayed the missile firing’s significance, as did a senior U.S. official, while South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the country’s spy agency, said the launches were part of an annual military drill.

“I do not consider it as a grave issue for Japan’s security,” Abe told reporters, adding that he wanted North Korea to adhere to the six-party agreement.

U.S. assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue, said of the missile tests: “It’s not unusual. They’ve done that before.” …

Japan’s NHK television said the missiles, fired from both the east and west coasts of North Korea, were surface-to-ship types.

“These are short-range systems. They have fired them off before. It’s something they have done on several occasions,” Hill told reporters in Manila, where he attended preparatory meetings this week for an August summit of Asia’s largest security bloc.

“I don’t think it will affect the six-party talks,” he said…

They are so damned treacherous inscrutable.

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