North Korea fires short-range projectiles

North Korea Thursday fired five short-range projectiles shortly after its committee for reunification called for an end to inter-Korean hostilities and elimination of barriers to reconciliation and unity.

The projectiles were launched from 300 mm-caliber multiple-rocket launchers in the forenoon and shortly after noon, Xinhua quoted Yonhap News Agency as saying.

The projectiles, which flew around 200 km, were believed to be fired from North Korea's eastern Wonsan Area.

Earlier Thursday, North Korea urged South Korea to lift economic sanctions -- imposed May 24 -- and cancel the scheduled military drills with the US, calling for improved inter-Korean relations.

North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) said Pyongyang would like to take the opportunity on the occasion of Independence Day Friday to open a new phase in relations between the two Koreas.

Friday will mark the 69th anniversary of Korea's independence from the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

The committee called for an end to hostilities between the two Koreas and urged realistic actions to eliminate barriers to reconciliation, unity and reunification.

The May 24 sanctions were imposed by Seoul in 2010 following the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan near the disputed western sea border. The sanctions ban all inter-Korean exchanges except for the joint factory park in Kaesong, the North Korean border town.