Article Posted on : - Oct 05, 2012

SEOUL (AFP): North Korea test-fired one short-range missile off its west coast last week, a day after South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak held a top-level security meeting, a report has said.

The surface-to-ship missile was fired into the Yellow Sea on September 27 and travelled an estimated 80-90 kilometres, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a Seoul government source as saying.

"The test-firing could be a part of the North's routine efforts to improve their capabilities and range, but there was an assessment that it could be a reaction to our government's movement," the source was quoted as saying.

On September 26 Lee and his top security officials urged North Korea to halt any attempt to sway South Korea's presidential election in December. They reiterated their vow strongly to punish the North for any provocations.

The North frequently conducts such short-range tests but their timing sometimes coincides with periods of tension.

The South's navy fired warning shots on September 21 to turn back North Korean fishing vessels that crossed the disputed Yellow Sea border, one of a series of such incursions.

Pyongyang denounced the "shooting rampage" and threatened to respond with a "powerful strike of the (North's) front units which know of no limit."

South Koreans go to the polls on December 19, and there are fears Pyongyang may be looking to instigate a clash that would overshadow the election process.