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North Korea fires missiles into sea as U.S. defence chief visits region


    SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has fired two surface-to-air missiles off its west coast, South Korea said on Thursday, with the latest in a string of short-range firings by the North coming shortly before the U.S. defence secretary arrived in the region.

    "The range of these is not that long," South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a briefing, referring to the surface-to-air missiles fired on Tuesday.

    "The North occasionally fires these," Kim said.

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter arrived in Japan on Tuesday afternoon and was due to travel to South Korea on Thursday, where he is expected to discuss a response to North Korea's growing missile and nuclear threat.

    North Korea fired four short-range missiles off its west coast on Friday from a major missile station used previously to launch a long-range rocket that is believed to have put an object into space.

    (This story corrects the day of the missile firing)

    (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel)