North Korea fires missiles during training exercise

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

On Wednesday March 8, North Korea launched two surface-to-air missiles, during military training exercises near the border with China, according to Kyodo News which cited two military sources.

The sources, however, dispute where those missiles were launched. An "Asian security source" stated that the missiles may have been launched in the direction of China by mistake, and landed just inside the North Korean border. A "Western military source", however, claimed that they were launched to the east, in the direction of the Sea of Japan, but still says they landed in North Korean territory.

North Korea surprised the world when it launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan in 1998. Since then, it has conducted many missile tests, including a dense battery of land-to-ship missile tests in 2003 when tensions rose over its possible possession of nuclear weapons. It is believed to be developing a ballistic missile that could reach Alaska, Hawaii, or even the continental United States.

Sources