TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea is warning ships to stay away from waters off its eastern city of Kimchaek, near a missile base, a Japan Coast Guard spokesman said on Friday, suggesting North Korea could be preparing for a possible short-range missile test.
Kimchaek is about 40 km southwest of the Musudan-ri missile base and the nearest urban area to the site from which the country launched a long-range rocket in April.
A Japan Coast Guard ship heard the warning from North Korea on Thursday saying that ships should stay away from waters in the 130 km (81 miles) range from Kimchaek until May 30, said Masahiro Ichijo, a spokesman at the Japan Coast Guard.
The Japanese ship was patrolling in the Sea of Japan when it caught the warning, Ichijo said, adding that it was not uncommon for countries to issue such warnings without going through an international organisation.
North Korea did not give the reason for the warning, Ichijo said, adding that 130 km was a short distance considering the size of the Sea of Japan.
Coastal towns in eastern North Korea and northwestern Japan are separated by the Sea of Japan and some 1,000 km apart.
Officials in South Korea could not confirm the reports of a North Korean nautical warning.
North Korea often fires short-range missiles as a part of military drills and usually times the launches for periods of political friction in order to ratchet up pressure.
About a month ago, the reclusive state, which conducted its first and only nuclear test in October 2006, threatened a fresh nuclear test.
It threatened to fire off an intercontinental ballistic missile if the United Nations did not apologise to Pyongyang for punishing it for the April launch, widely seen as a disguised missile test that violated U.N. resolutions.
Analysts said the North, which has a history of using military threats to squeeze concessions out of global powers, had stepped up provocations in order to increase it bargaining leverage with the government of U.S. President Barack Obama.
(Reporting by Yoko Kubota in TOKYO and Jon Herskovitz in SEOUL; Editing by Valerie Lee)