Possible North Korean defector floats to port in Yamaguchi

Pyongyang launched three missiles Tuesday morning in the latest in a set of controversial ballistic tests, according to South Korea’s military, which claimed the projectiles had a range of up to 600 kilometers (360 miles).

These are not the first missiles North Korea has fired in recent months – intermediate-range missiles were tested in June and a submarine launched a missile earlier this month. Despite UN sanctions and strong worldwide condemnation, North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, with the latest one being in January of this year.

The missiles, believed to be Scud-types, were launched from the western city of Hwangju, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

But given increased South Korean public interest in the human rights of North Koreans and government initiatives to take an active approach to North Korea human rights abuses, the case is being undertaken by a member of the legal NGO.

Almost 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression in the isolated communist country to settle in the capitalist South.

It comes after the United States and the South said they would deploy an anti-missile system to counter the threats.

The man said he was fleeing North Korea because he was being chased by police after he was caught watching South Korean videos, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

China has also sharply criticized the decision as a move that will destabilize the security balance in the region.