North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's decision to renew nuclear tests has caused international condemnation Photo: AFP/Getty Images
North Korea has defiantly launched two more missiles just a day after it tested a nuclear bomb estimated to be the same size as those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Second World War.
Two short-range missiles were fired on North Korea's east coast, according to Yonhap, the South Korean news agency. One was a surface-to-air missile and one a surface-to-ship. Both were estimated to have a range of 80 miles.
The rogue state fired three short-range missiles on Tuesday, and there are suspicions that it may be trying to scare off US spy planes from hovering above sensitive military installations.
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"The North is continuing its sabre-rattling," an unnamed South Korean Defence official told Yonhap, without clarifying the possible intent of the missiles. South Korean intelligence has identified "brisk activity" along the coast line, as the North manoeuvres its arsenal. Pyongyang has also banned all shipping from the region.
Pyongyang continued its fierce rhetoric, accusing the US of hostility and warning that its army and people are ready to defeat an American invasion.
"The current US administration is following in the footsteps of the previous Bush administration's reckless policy of militarily stifling North Korea," said the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss fresh sanctions and punitive actions against North Korea, Barack Obama, the US president, reassured North Korea's neighbours that he would protect them in the event of any attack.
Mr Obama telephoned the leaders of Japan and South Korea to repeat long-standing US security guarantees. Mr Obama told Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president, that the United States will protect his country from any possible North Korean aggression, a South Korean presidential spokesman said in Seoul.
Both leaders agreed that North Korea's decision to test a second device was "a reckless violation of international law" and that they would seek "concrete measures [at the United Nations] to curtail North Korea's nuclear and missile activities," a statement from the US State Department added.
Mr Obama also spoke by telephone with Taro Aso, the Japanese prime minister, with the leaders agreeing to step up co-ordination with South Korea, China and Russia. Mr Obama also reiterated the US commitment to defend Japan, the White House said.
China and Russia have joined the condemnation of North Korea, however both nations have argued in the past that further sanctions and isolation of Pyongyang could be counterproductive in efforts to restart the stalled Six Party talks on nuclear disarmament.
China said yesterday that it was "resolutely opposed" to the test, but weakened the tone of its statement from the strong words it issued in response to North Korea's first nuclear test in October 2006 – an act Beijing described as "brazen". It also called for a "calm response" to the crisis and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved through dialogue, a possible indication that China will not permit heavily-punitive sanctions.
Meanwhile South Korea has announced that it will join a US-led initiative to curb the trade in weapons of mass destruction, an decision which Pyongyang has previously said it would consider an "act of war".
The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), set up by the Bush administration in 2003 and now joined by 90 countries, is aimed at stopping and searching shipping suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction or their related components.
South Korea had retained "observer" status in the initiative in an attempt to preserve relations with its Northern neighbour, however a foreign ministry spokesman said that following Monday's test Seoul could wait no longer.
The rogue state fired three short-range missiles on Tuesday, and there are suspicions that it may be trying to scare off US spy planes from hovering above sensitive military installations.
Related Articles
Kim Jong-il: a profile and the question of succession
US vows to defend North Korea's neighbours
UN condemns North Korea nuclear test
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North Korea warned US minutes before nuclear test
A test too far by North Korea
"The North is continuing its sabre-rattling," an unnamed South Korean Defence official told Yonhap, without clarifying the possible intent of the missiles. South Korean intelligence has identified "brisk activity" along the coast line, as the North manoeuvres its arsenal. Pyongyang has also banned all shipping from the region.
Pyongyang continued its fierce rhetoric, accusing the US of hostility and warning that its army and people are ready to defeat an American invasion.
"The current US administration is following in the footsteps of the previous Bush administration's reckless policy of militarily stifling North Korea," said the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss fresh sanctions and punitive actions against North Korea, Barack Obama, the US president, reassured North Korea's neighbours that he would protect them in the event of any attack.
Mr Obama telephoned the leaders of Japan and South Korea to repeat long-standing US security guarantees. Mr Obama told Lee Myung-bak, the South Korean president, that the United States will protect his country from any possible North Korean aggression, a South Korean presidential spokesman said in Seoul.
Both leaders agreed that North Korea's decision to test a second device was "a reckless violation of international law" and that they would seek "concrete measures [at the United Nations] to curtail North Korea's nuclear and missile activities," a statement from the US State Department added.
Mr Obama also spoke by telephone with Taro Aso, the Japanese prime minister, with the leaders agreeing to step up co-ordination with South Korea, China and Russia. Mr Obama also reiterated the US commitment to defend Japan, the White House said.
China and Russia have joined the condemnation of North Korea, however both nations have argued in the past that further sanctions and isolation of Pyongyang could be counterproductive in efforts to restart the stalled Six Party talks on nuclear disarmament.
China said yesterday that it was "resolutely opposed" to the test, but weakened the tone of its statement from the strong words it issued in response to North Korea's first nuclear test in October 2006 – an act Beijing described as "brazen". It also called for a "calm response" to the crisis and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved through dialogue, a possible indication that China will not permit heavily-punitive sanctions.
Meanwhile South Korea has announced that it will join a US-led initiative to curb the trade in weapons of mass destruction, an decision which Pyongyang has previously said it would consider an "act of war".
The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), set up by the Bush administration in 2003 and now joined by 90 countries, is aimed at stopping and searching shipping suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction or their related components.
South Korea had retained "observer" status in the initiative in an attempt to preserve relations with its Northern neighbour, however a foreign ministry spokesman said that following Monday's test Seoul could wait no longer.
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