North Korea fires short-range missile into sea

SEOUL — North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into waters off its east coast on yesterday, a South Korean defense official said. It was the latest in a slew of weapons tests by Pyongyang, and came on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the rivals' war.

The missile, fired from North Korea's southwest Hwanghae province on yesterday evening, flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) across the country before landing in the sea, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of department rules. He gave no further details.

North Korea routinely test-fires missiles, artillery and rockets, but the number of weapons tests it has conducted this year is much higher than previous years. Outside analysts say this indicates that North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, is handling things differently than his late father, Kim Jong Il, who sparingly used longer-range missile and nuclear tests as negotiating cards with the outside world to win concessions. Kim Jong Un inherited power upon his father's death in December 2011.

Analysts also say Kim Jong Un is expected to order the military to keep conducting weapons tests unless rival South Korea and the US make a major concession such as scaling down their regular joint military drills. Pyongyang calls the drills by Seoul and Washington a rehearsal for invasion, though the allies say they have no intention of attacking North Korea. Annual summertime exercises by South Korean and US troops are slated for next month.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War has yet to be replaced by a peace treaty. The US has about 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter potential aggression from the North.