July 2 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea fired four short-range missiles off its eastern coast today in defiance of United Nations sanctions imposed after a nuclear test, South Korea’s military and a U.S. official said.

The communist state launched the devices from South Hamgyong province at 5:20 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. local time, said an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff who declined to be identified for security reasons. The action probably was part of a military drill, according to the same official.

North Korea has used such launches in the past to counter international condemnation of its nuclear program. The regime fired six short-range missiles in May, following its detonation of a nuclear bomb.

South Korea is “monitoring the movements of North Korea’s military very closely,” Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan said in an interview during a gathering at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. “The South Korean government doesn’t take these short-range missiles as seriously as it would a mid-range missile or a long- range missile.”

Further short-range launches are possible without notice, said the U.S. official, who asked for anonymity. It’s unlikely North Korea will fire a long-range Taepodong missile in the next few days because of the preparation required, the official said.

UN Security Council

The UN Security Council approved measures on June 12 to curb financial transactions with North Korea and to prevent the country from proliferating weapons of mass destruction after it conducted a nuclear test May 25. The atomic detonation followed the North’s launch of a ballistic missile technically capable of reaching Alaska in April.

North Korea walked out of international talks to dismantle its nuclear program in April, kicked UN inspectors out of the country, and declared it will continue to develop its nuclear arms, including starting a program for highly enriched uranium.

“This is nothing new,” Darby Holladay, a State Department spokesman, said in Washington after today’s launches began. “We have seen this type of North Korean behavior in the past. What they need to do is return to the negotiating table.”

Japan’s government is aware of the report of today’s launches and is “gathering information,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Takeshi Akamatsu said in a telephone interview.

Cargo Inspections

The Security Council’s June resolution authorizes stepped- up inspection of air or sea cargo suspected of containing material usable in the development of nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. The measure also calls for new restrictions on loans and money transfers to North Korea.

North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, has repeatedly warned that any move to seize its ships would be met with military retaliation.

The U.S. said it will continue to push for the use of the UN sanctions against North Korea.

“The objective is full implementation of the UN resolutions on North Korea,” U.S. envoy Philip Goldberg said at a briefing in Beijing today after meetings with Chinese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies he declined to name. “We intend to implement those resolutions with the overall goal of returning to a path of denuclearization and non-proliferation.”

He declined to answer questions about how willing the Chinese are to impose financial sanctions.

North and South Korea failed to reach agreement today in a third round of talks on wages and rent at a joint industrial park inside the communist nation.

The two sides met for 70 minutes in the morning at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, where the North pushed for a fee increase and the South pressed for the release of a detained worker, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae Sung said. A date hasn’t been set for the next round, Chun said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at hjkoo@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 2, 2009 12:55 EDT