One day after its nuclear test drew angry and widespread condemnation, North Korea continued to defy the international community on Tuesday by test-firing two more short-range missiles, a South Korean government official said.
The missile firings came just hours after South Korea said it would join an American-led operation to stop the global trafficking in weapons of mass destruction, an action the North has previously said it would consider a declaration of war.
The developments sharpened the confrontation between North Korea and much of the international community including the United States as the United Nations Security Council vowed to craft a resolution that could impose further sanctions on the increasingly isolated North.
The missiles launched Tuesday were surface-to-ship and surface-to-air projectiles, a South Korean official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. The South Korean news agency Yonhap said the missiles had a range of 80 miles. They were apparently launched from a base on the central eastern coast into the sea opposite Japan, further rattling nerves in the region. Continued....
