North Korea has yet again fired a missile. Previous tests, were on 25 May (one short-range missile, east into the Sea of Japan) and 07 June (two short-ranges missiles, west into the Yellow Sea). Today’s DPRK missile test was into the Sea of Japan:

Unnamed officials in both Japan and South Korea were quoted as saying that the North had test-fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan, off its east coast.

“It seems to be part of its routine exercises,” an intelligence source was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.

More from Forbes:

Japanese public broadcaster NHK, quoting government officials in Tokyo, said the missile was fired shortly after 1500 (0600 GMT).

The latest launch came just three days after the communist state announced it was ready to discuss arrangements for shutting down its nuclear reactor under a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal.

The North invited a preliminary team from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which will visit Pyongyang next week.

‘I don’t think it (the launch) has a special significance that can be linked to the six-party talks,’ an unidentified South Korean official was quoted by Yonhap as saying.

While I have no doubt that the some part of these tests are related to normal research and development, or that Korea People’s Army used the opportunity for training and readiness, it was also no doubt meant to influence nuclear negotiations. Not that I think it will matter much in the end.