N. Korea fires missiles to threaten U.S. spy planes: official

(ATTN: UPDATES; ADDS details, comments throughout)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired two additional short-range missiles
Monday in an apparent move to threaten U.S. spy planes monitoring a site where
the regime is believed to have conducted its second nuclear test, a South Korean
official said.

"The launches took place at around 5:03 p.m.," the official said, speaking on
customary condition of anonymity. North Korea had earlier launched a
surface-to-air missile around noon, hours after it said it detonated a nuclear
device in an underground bunker.
"The latest missiles were fired from Wonsan, which isn't too far from Taepodong,
where the first one was launched," the official said. "The launches appear to be
a reaction to U.S. surveillance efforts."
South Korean officials said they detected a tremor similar to "an artificial
earthquake" registering a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale at 9:54 a.m in
the northeastern part of the communist neighbor.
The latest detonation, which comes after North Korea conducted its first atomic
test in October 2006, triggered U.S. and South Korean security officials to step
up their vigilance over Pyongyang.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the allies "bolstered their combined
surveillance assets intensively" to keep tabs on the North Korean forces. "A
proper level of monitoring and early warning systems have been established to
detect signs of provocation," it said.
"An order for toughened guard was issued to units Monday morning," it said.
The South Korean military could not immediately identify the specifications of
the latest missiles North Korea launched, the official said.
"What we can say for now is that they were short-range missiles," the official said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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