Well, They Warned Us

North Korea test fired a surface-to-ship cruise missile towards the Sea of Japan on Monday, Japanese media said, escalating a crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

The missile test followed North Korea's announcement that it had established a maritime exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan, effective March 8-11.

Japanese broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency said the missile was launched at around midday Japanese time.

Washington: No Direct Talks

The test launch came shortly after US officials reiterated that Washington would not hold direct talks with Pyongyang in order to resolve the nuclear standoff between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice both said on Sunday that multilateral talks would be more productive.

North Korea called on Friday for bilateral talks, saying Washington was alleging Pyongyang was developing nuclear weapons in order to disarm it.

Escalating Tensions

The accusation came as US and South Korean troops conducted joint military exercises near the North Korean border.

Kyodo quoted Japan's Defence Agency as saying the missile was not ballistic. NHK quoted the ministry as saying the missile posed no threat to Japan's security.

Tensions mounted on the Korean peninsula after American officials said last October that North Korea had admitted to enriching uranium in violation of a 1994 accord and escalated when Pyongyang withdrew from a nuclear non-proliferation pact.

North Korea test fired a short-range, anti-ship cruise missile on February 24, apparently as part of a periodic training exercise. It just so happened to coincide with the inauguration of South Korea's new president, Roh Moo-hyun. US Secretary of State Colin Powell attended the ceremony.

In 1998, it shocked the world by firing a Taepodong ballistic missile that flew over Japan's main island of Honshu. It later said it would not carry out further testing, but late last year said the moratorium was no longer in effect.

FMI: DPRK Central News Agency, CIA North Korea Factbook