N Korea warns of 'counter-measures' if UN imposes sanctions

Seoul, May 29: A defiant North Korea today test- fired another short-range missile and warned of more "self- defence counter-measures" if "hypocrites" in the UN Security Council slapped sanctions on it for this week's nuclear test.
North Korea launched a new type short-range missile with an estimated range of 160 km from its Musudan-ri rocket launch site on its east coast, a South Korean official said.

"What the North has launched this time appears to be different from what it had launched (previously)," the official said. "It is a new type of a land-to-air missile," Yonhap news agency reported.

The North has been firing a series of missiles since Monday, when it said it successfully conducted its second nuclear test since the first one in 2006.

South Korea said an increasingly belligerent North may be preparing fresh moves after Chinese fishing boats were spotted leaving a disputed sea border on the west coast.

"Our forces are watching these movements (by Chinese fishing boats) with the view that they could be signs that indicate the possibility of North Korea's aggression," Defence Ministry spokesman Won tae-jae said.

Meanwhile, defying international pressure, Pyongyang warned it will take further "self-defence counter-measures" should the Security Council punish its second nuclear test, a stern message also directed at its allies, China and Russia, which are the veto-wielding members of the Council. PTI