North Korea on Wednesday test-fired two missiles near its border with China, Japanese news reports said. The Stalinist state carried out the missile tests at around 9:00 am (0000 GMT) and at noon (0300 GMT), Nippon Television Network said, quoting officials of the Japanese Defence Agency and public security authorities.
The ground-to-ground missiles with a range of five kilometers (3.1 miles) landed in North Korean territory, the television network said.
“It is a usual exercise and will not affect Japan’s security,” a Defence Agency official was quoted by Jiji Press as saying.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters: “We are always collecting information. There is nothing to say in particular.”
A Defence Agency spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny the report.
Tokyo has been sensitive to North Korea’s missile tests since it stunned the world in 1998 by firing a missile over the Japanese mainland into the Pacific.
Source: Agence France-Presse
