Japanese TV news has just reported that North Korea fired short range missiles into the Sea of Japan today. From the IHT:

TOKYO: North Korea fired several short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan earlier Friday, Kyodo News agency reported, citing Japanese and U.S. sources.

Japanese Defense and Foreign Ministry officials said they could not immediately confirm the report.

Japan’s NTV network reported that the missiles were surface-to-ship.

More information from Bloomberg News:

Hapan’s NHK Television said missiles were fired from North Korea’s eastern and western coasts. Japan is located to the east of North Korea.

The firings could escalate existing strains in north Asia after the communist country tested a nuclear device in October and fired ballistic missiles last July. The government in Pyongyang missed an April 13 deadline to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program under an agreement with the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

“Who knows why they are doing this?” Paul French, the Shanghai-based author of “North Korea: Paranoid Peninsula,” said in a phone interview. “It’s them being totally contrary.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the missile tests aren’t a major security problem for Japan. The government is collecting information on the tests, Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is aware of the reports and is trying to confirm the missile firings, spokesman Jeffrey Hill said by phone.

[...]

The South Korean government “assumes the missile launches were part of routine exercises that North Korea has conducted annually on the West Sea and the East Sea[known as the 'Sea of Japan' in English],” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The South Korean government, which launched its first Aegis-equipped warship today, is doing its best to downplay the fact that the North just so happened to fire off some silkworm anti-ship missiles this morning. If you’re somewhat confused by South Korea’s official policy regarding just about anything bad that North Korea does, simply refer to this simple picture: