North Korea test-fired short-range anti-ship missiles on March 28. The missiles were launched from ships off the country's west coast. According to North Korean authorities, the training launches took place as part of military exercises. Let us recall that on the eve of the DPRK expelled a group of South Korean employees from a joint industrial complex with South Korea, and the government of the latter held an emergency meeting on how to prevent further deterioration of relations with its neighbor.

According to the South Korean Yonhap agency, the DPRK carried out three launches of ship-to-ship missiles in total. The missiles' flight range was 46 km. The agency also reported that three days ago, North Korean authorities closed access to the sea for civilian ships in the Nampo port area for 24 hours, but the missile launches were postponed. As the press secretary of the President of South Korea said at a briefing, the missile launches took place as part of military exercises of the North Korean armed forces. “We are confident that the North does not want relations between the North and the South to deteriorate,” the spokesman said. According to the Kyodo Tsushin news agency, the South Korean Ministry of Defense recorded preparations for launching anti-ship missiles on March 25-26.

Let us recall that on March 27, Pyongyang expelled a group of South Korean managers from the industrial complex in Kaesong (DPRK), which had become a symbol of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two parts of the divided country. Thus, the North Korean leadership hopes to arouse dissatisfaction among the South Korean business elite with the policies of the new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Pyongyang ordered the expulsion of specialists on Monday. Formally, the reason was the statement of the new head of the South Korean Ministry of Unification Affairs (MDA), which oversees all relations with the DPRK, Kim Ha-jung. He said Seoul would put the brakes on further expansion of the joint inter-Korean industrial zone at Kaesong until all issues related to North Korea's nuclear program were resolved. The minister acted in strict accordance with the policy towards the DPRK proclaimed by the new President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak. Immediately after winning the December presidential election, Mr. Lee announced the need to link the pace of economic cooperation with the DPRK with progress in its nuclear disarmament and generally curtail all economically unjustified but politically motivated bilateral projects.

Sensing unfavorable changes in Seoul, Pyongyang decided to launch a preemptive strike and decided to reduce the number of southern representatives at the economic cooperation advisory center in Kaesong. In recent years, this North Korean city has become a symbol of successful inter-Korean economic cooperation. Now in its industrial park there are enterprises of 69 South Korean companies, in which 25.6 thousand North Korean workers and about 800 South Korean technical specialists create products that are exported and bring hard currency to both Seoul and Pyongyang.

In connection with the incident, the South Korean government held an emergency meeting on the same day on how to prevent further deterioration of relations with the DPRK. And at the forum on inter-Korean relations that took place at the same time in Seoul, an appeal from the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim Ha-jun, was read out. It said Seoul is not abandoning plans for economic cooperation with Pyongyang, which "could become a dynamic force for the North's economic growth and provide South Korea with new markets."

North Korea conducts training missile launches