N Korea fires 3 short-range missiles amid N-standoff

North Korea yesterday test-fired three short-range missiles, fuelling tension sparked by its nuclear standoff, as a US team held talks in China on ways to make UN sanctions bite against Pyongyang.
The projectiles were thought to be ground-to-ship missiles and were launched in the early evening into the East Sea (Sea of Japan), South Korea's defence ministry said.
It was the first military action which the hardline communist state had taken since the United Nations on June 12 imposed tougher sanctions for its May 25 nuclear test.
The North had warned Japanese ship operators on Wednesday to stay clear of some areas off its east and west coasts during military exercises lasting until July 11, raising the spectre of more tests in the near future.
South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, quoting an intelligence source, said the North in the coming days is likely to fire a series of short-range missiles.
Apart from ground-to-ship weapons with a range of 140 kilometres (88 miles), it said these would likely include Scud-B missiles with a range of 340 km.
The North may also fire Rodongs, whose 1,300-km range would likely be shortened to some 400 km for the current round of testing, the paper predicted.
In the days after its atomic test -- the second since 2006 -- Pyongyang had fired a total of six short-range missiles and renounced the truce in force on the Korean peninsula.
In response to the UN resolution tightening curbs on its missile and atomic activities it had vowed to build more nuclear bombs.
US and South Korean officials believe ailing leader Kim Jong-Il, 67, is staging a show of strength to bolster his authority as he tries to put in place a succession plan involving his youngest son.
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso condemned the exercise, telling reporters: "We have repeatedly warned that such a provocative act is not beneficial for North Korea's national interest."
In Beijing, a US delegation Thursday met officials for talks on giving the UN sanctions more teeth.
The support of China, the North's sole major ally and largest trade partner, is seen as crucial in making the sanctions stick.
The delegation, led by Philip Goldberg -- the State Department's point man on coordinating implementation of the sanctions -- met officials from the foreign ministry, the US embassy said.
His team includes members of the National Security Council and the departments of Treasury and Defence.
Goldberg declined comment on China's position.
"The US position is that we want all the various aspects of the resolutions to work," he told reporters. "It is our intention to fully implement the resolutions."
US warships have since mid-June been tracking a North Korean ship suspected of carrying weapons. The Kang Nam 1 was reportedly headed for Myanmar but US officials said Tuesday it has now turned back.
China, which stresses diplomacy over force with its neighbour, said its top envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue, Wu Dawei, had begun a visit to Russia, the United States, Japan and South Korea.
They are members of a forum, which has tried since 2003 to persuade the North to disarm in return for energy aid and diplomatic and security benefits.
The North announced it was quitting the talks after the UN censured its long-range rocket launch on April 5.
North and South Korea meanwhile held more talks about the fate of their last major joint business project, the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial estate just north of the border.
But they failed to narrow differences or set the date for their next meeting, Seoul officials said.
The South rejects the North's demand for huge pay rises and rent increases at Kaesong, and demands freedom for a South Korean worker who has been held for more than 90 days.
The North alleges the man slandered its political system and tried to incite a local woman worker to defect. It refuses to grant access to him.