Four short-range missiles were fired by North Korea into the sea on February 27, 2014. The Defense Ministry of Seoul said that the recent test-fire was conducted in an apparent show of force, which matched joint military exercises of South Korea and the United States. A spokesperson for the ministry said that the missiles in question have an estimated range of 200 km and it has been reported that they were fired off the east coast of North Korea.
The spokesperson added, “Our military will maintain tight vigilance in preparation for additional launches or any military provocation from the North”. North Korea continues to test short-range missiles on a regular basis and it has used them earlier in order to showcase its anger at the annual military exercises. Regardless of the situation, observers state that the tests are probably not going to cause a significant increase in military tensions.
An expert on North Korean affairs at Seoul’s Dongguk University, Kim Yong Hyun said that the tests seemed routine and are mainly about sending a message about the drills, in addition to expressing anger over the recent UN rights report. A commission that was UN-mandated published a report which mentioned details about the horrific human rights abuses in North Korea.
The report concluded that the country is even capable of crimes against humanity.
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