N. Korea Test Fires Short Range Missile

(Newsroom America) -- North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Monday, coinciding with an announcement that Kim Jong-Il, the country's longtime leader, had died at the age of 69.

"North Korea test-fired a short-range missile this morning... it has been closed monitored by our military authorities," said South Korea's Yonghap news agency.

The report quoted an unnamed government official as saying the launch had nothing to do with the announcement that Kim had died Saturday of an apparent heart attack.

The official said the missile was believed to have a range of about 72 miles (120 km), adding that Pyongyang was working to improve the missile.

North Korea has been testing its new KN-06 missile, which is an upgraded version of KN-01 and KN-02 ground-to-ground missiles.

South Korea put its military on alert following the announcement that Kim had passed away.

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