Posted on Dec 21st

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea test-fired a short-range missile off its east coast on Dec. 19, the same day it announced the death of leader Kim Jong-Il, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

The agency quoted an unnamed government official as saying the missile launch was unrelated to the announcement that Kim had died Dec. 17 of a heart attack. “North Korea test-fired a short-range missile this morning … it has been [closely] monitored by our military authorities,” said the official, as quoted by Yonhap.

Seoul’s defense ministry declined to confirm the report. The missile is believed to have a range of about 72 miles (120 kilometers), he said, adding the North was apparently trying to improve the weapon. North Korea has been testing its new KN-06 missile, a modified version of the KN-01 and KN-02 ground-to-ground missiles, Yonhap said.

To read the whole article at Defense News