North Korea Fires Another Short-Range Missile

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A South Korean news report says North Korea has fired yet another short-range missile off its eastern coast.

The Yonhap news agency reports that Pyongyang launched the missile into the sea late Tuesday. Earlier in the day, North Korea fired two short-range missiles. Yonhap says those followed three missile launches on Monday after what North Korea said was a nuclear test.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus South Korea and Japan, met Tuesday for discussions on how to deal with the North Korean actions. She said they held "very serious, concrete talks" on a possible resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.

Yonhap says some officials believe the missile launches may be aimed at preventing U.S. and South Korean planes from getting close enough to verify the claimed nuclear test.

North Korea responded to a wave of international condemnation of Monday's nuclear test by accusing the United States of hostility. A North Korean diplomat in Geneva said Monday's nuclear test was a "self-defense measure."

U.S. officials and independent experts say Monday's test probably was larger than North Korea's one kiloton test in 2006. But experts say it does not appear to represent a major technological advance.

Russia and China condemned the nuclear test, but their support for new sanctions remains unclear.

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