After missile firing, U.S. urges N. Korea to show restraint

Responding to reports of North Korean missile launches, the United States called Thursday on the communist nation to restrain itself from taking such a provocative step.

 "We are of closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula," the State Department's spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said at a press briefing. "We continue, as we often do, to urge North Korea to exercise restraint and take steps to improve its relations with its neighbors."

The North fired four short-range ballistic missiles in an apparent test off its southeast coast on Thursday (local time), according to informed defense sources.

The missiles are believed to be a Scud type with a range of more than 200 km, they added.

Paski would not discuss such an intelligence-related matter.

She reiterated that the U.S. works very closely with its regional partners to deal with the North Korea problem. (Yonhap)