N. Korea missile firing draws little reaction

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired a salvo of test missiles into its coastal waters Friday, flexing naval muscles as South Korea launched its most advanced destroyer ever, armed with a high-tech U.S. air defense system.

The moves came amid a continued standoff over implementing communist North Korea’s promise to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and just days before the divided Koreas are scheduled to hold high-level reconciliation talks in Seoul.

But reaction was muted – unlike the response last July to the North’s test of a long-range missile capable of hitting Japan and perhaps parts of the United States, or in October to the North’s underground explosion of a nuclear weapon.

South Korea said Friday’s missile test apparently was part of the North’s annual military exercises and involved short-range missiles, adding that the firings were unlikely to derail next week’s talks.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States viewed the test “as a routine exercise that they do from time to time.”

U.S. criticism of the Pyongyang regime has been muted recently, reflecting the eagerness of American officials to make progress on the nuclear disarmament accord with the North that has been stalled by a financial dispute.

At least some of the missiles were fired off North Korea’s eastern coast into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the action “extremely regrettable.” While saying the test was not a “serious” threat to Japan’s national security, he said it undermined international trust in North Korea’s reclusive government.

The test firing came as South Korea celebrated the launch of a new destroyer equipped with Aegis radar, a system that will greatly enhance the South’s ability to locate, track and shoot down North Korean aircraft and missiles. South Korea is one of only five nations armed with the U.S. technology.