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By Kim Hyung-jin
SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is believed to have test-fired two short-range missiles off its western coast Thursday, South Korean intelligence officials said, as the communist country has been under increasing pressure to keep its promise of dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
"I believe North Korea launched two missiles into the West Sea today -- one in the morning and the other in the afternoon," a South Korean intelligence official said, on condition of anonymity.
Both missiles are believed to have landed in the North's territorial waters, the official said, adding the rockets that the communist country fired were either a surface-to-ship type or a ship-to-ship type, both with a range of less than 100 km.
"North Korea conducts this kind of missile test several times a year," the official said. "We saw the test as part of a routine military exercise."
The purported test came about two weeks after North Korea fired a short-range guided missile into the East Sea. Some analysts and media said that the missile test may have been a response to South Korea's launch of its first Aegis-equipped destroyer, but South Korean and U.S. military authorities downplayed the view, saying it was part of military training.
Another South Korean intelligence official said his agency has also obtained intelligence that the North fired one or two short-range missiles into the West Sea.
"We are confirming intelligence that North Korea fired short-range missiles into the West Sea on Thursday morning," the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. "The number of missiles fired today is estimated at one or two."
Along with its nuclear weapons program, North Korea's missile program has posed a constant threat to security in the region. In July last year, the North tested multiple missiles, including a long-range rocket believed to be able to reach as far as the U.S. West Coast, triggering a chorus of international condemnation.
Thursday's missile firing came as North Korea has been under increasing pressure to honor a Feb. 13 international accord, in which the communist country agreed to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for aid. The North, however, has yet to take initial disarmament procedures, citing a banking dispute with the U.S. over the release of US$24 million in a Macau bank blacklisted by the U.S.
The stalled denuclearization procedures forced last week's Cabinet-level talks between the divided Koreas to end without a substantial agreement, as South Korea insisted it will resume its rice aid to North Korea only after the North moves on to honor the February disarmament accord.
The South halted its humanitarian rice aid after the North's defiant missile tests.
The second South Korean intelligence official, meanwhile, said one of the two rockets the North fired Thursday was the one it initially planned to launch on May 25.
"The North, which fired one short-range missile into the East (Sea) on May 25, initially planned to fire another in the West Sea, too. It's seen as the North firing the missile that it didn't launch at that time."
hyungjin@yna.co.kr
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North Korea test-fired several short-range missiles off its west coast, South Korea's Yonhap news service reported today.

"I believe North Korea launched two missiles into the West Sea today, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon," an unnamed South Korean intelligence official was quoted as saying by Yonhap, the South Korean government news service. The official added that the rockets were either a surface-to-ship type or a ship-to-ship type, both with a range of less than 100 kilometers (60 miles), and landed in North Korean territory.

"North Korea conducts this kind of missile test several times a year," the official was quoted as saying. "We saw the test as part of a routine military exercise."

The last missile test was on May 25, which at the time South Korean and US officials said was routine.

But the latest launches occurred a day after US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the G8 nations to put more pressure on North Korea to comply with an international agreement to shut down its main nuclear reactor.

The U.S. criticized today's launch as "not constructive."

"The United States and our allies believe that North Korea should refrain from testing missiles," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement from the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. "North Korea should focus on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and fulfill its obligations," Johndroe said, mentioning an international agreement North Korea made on Feb. 13 that it would to shut down its main nuclear reactor in return for financial and diplomatic incentives.