SEOUL, March 10: North Korea fired a cruise missile into the Sea of Japan on Monday, ratcheting up tensions as it tries to force the United States into negotiations on the nuclear issue at a time when Washington’s eyes are firmly on Iraq.

The United States, which wants to keep the standoff with Pyongyang from hindering its buildup for a possible invasion of Iraq, had anticipated the launch, the second in as many weeks, and played down its significance.

So had Seoul, after Pyongyang declared a maritime exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan from March 8 to 11.

The firing nonetheless caused Seoul’s stock markets to dip and helped push the won currency to a four-month low, adding to fears voiced by a Seoul private-sector think-tank that a prolonged nuclear crisis and any protracted Iraq conflict would slash growth prospects for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

A Seoul defence ministry spokesman said the missile appeared to be the same type as the North test-fired on Feb 24.

“We are still trying to find out exactly what type of missile it was,” he added. Yonhap news agency quoted a senior official as saying the missile flew about 110kms.

The anti-ship missile North Korea fired into the same waters two weeks earlier was thought to be a version of a Chinese Silkworm missile. Last week, a Pentagon official said Washington was “not overly concerned” about the expected repeat launch.

South Korea called for talks.

“We regret any kind of action by North Korea to aggravate the situation that could threaten peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula,” said Lee Jihyun, foreign media spokeswoman for South Korea’s presidential Blue House.

“We would like North Korea to engage in dialogue and resolve the nuclear issue,” she said.

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said a non-ballistic missile was “not considered a direct threat to Japan”.—Reuters