NKorea conducts short-range guided missile test

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-25 19:35

Kyodo News agency said the missiles were launched from Hamgyong Namdo on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and are considered modified silkworm or miniaturized Scuds, with a range of about 100-200 kilometers (60-125 miles).

Mobile missile carriers, communication equipment and personnel had been seen in the area before the launch, but they left after the missiles were fired, Kyodo said.

Last month, North Korea displayed a newly developed ballistic missile capable of reaching the US territory of Guam during a massive military parade.

The parade in Pyongyang featured three new models, including the medium-range missile that can travel 2,500-4,000 kilometers (1,500-2,500 miles), the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported.

The report cited an unidentified South Korean government official familiar with an analysis of US satellite images.

North Korea's missile program has been a constant concern to the region, along with its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The hard-line regime test-fired a series of missiles in July last year, including its latest long-range model, known abroad as the Taepodong-2, which experts believe could reach parts of the United States.

The North rattled the world again in October by conducting its first-ever test of a nuclear device. However, experts believe it does not have a bomb design advanced enough to be placed on a missile.


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