North Korea defies U.S. with new missile launches

Russia and China called for calm, saying all sides should refrain from any steps that could further destabilize the region, Moscow's Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow and Beijing called for a return to suspended six-party talks involving China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States aimed at coaxing North Korea to give up its nuclear program.

"There is still no alternative to the six-party talks, which remain the most effective instrument for resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, and we call on them to be renewed as soon as possible," the statement said.

Britain and France condemned the missile tests and said they were a breach of U.N. resolutions.

"These latest provocations will only serve to strengthen our resolve as we work with international partners to implement the robust measures in the UN Security Council Resolution passed unanimously last month," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said. The goal was to see North Korea return to the negotiations, he added.

South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed the North fired seven missiles off its east coast from morning to late afternoon that flew about 400 km (250 miles) and splashed into the sea.

"It is a provocative act that clearly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions," Yonhap quoted a statement from South Korea's Foreign Ministry as saying.

Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement the country: "strongly protests and regrets today's missile launches by North Korea as they are a serious act of provocation against the security of neighboring countries, including Japan."

North Korea is thought to have more than 600 Scud-type missiles that include the Hwasong-5, with a range of about 300 km (185 miles) and the Hwasong-6, with a range of about 500 km (310 miles).

It also has more than 300 mid-range Rodong missiles that can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan. Weapons experts said the North does not have the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon to mount as a warhead on a missile.

North Korea fired four short-range, non-ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Thursday.