South Koreans look at the North Korean territory (top) through binoculars at an observation post, just south of the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Goseong, about 330 km (205 miles) northeast of Seoul, May 19, 2013. SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday, a day after launching three of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said, ignoring calls for restraint from Western powers. Tension on the Korean peninsula has subsided in the past month, having run high for several weeks after the United Nations Security Council imposed tougher sanctions against Pyongyang following its third nuclear test in February. The North had for weeks issued nearly daily warnings of impending nuclear war with the South and the United States.
– Just in case anybody missed the three short-range missiles North Korea fired off into the sea yesterday, Pyongyang launched a fourth missile in the same area today, reports CNN. That flies in the face of Western calls to cool it already, notes Reuters, after UN chief Ban Ki-moon voiced concern, calling yesterday's launches a "provocative action." Saber-rattling or no, the region is still decidedly calmer than last month, a Seoul-based journalist says. "It's really simply because it's North Korea doing this that it raises concerns," he said. "The North Koreans have significantly de-escalated their bellicosity and their rhetoric since the end of April." Seoul, which confirmed the launch today, "will not be strongly condemnatory of this test because right now they are very, very keen to get the North Koreans to the negotiating table."