North Korea test-fired three short-range missiles on Monday, the same day it conducted an underground nuclear test, South Korea's military said.

"North Korea (test)fired a short-range missile from Musudan at around 12:00 pm (0300 GMT) and two more short-range missiles from Wonsan at around 5:00 pm," a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.

He gave no more details.

Yonhap news agency quoted sources as saying the North fired three ground-to-air missiles with a range of 130 kilometres (81 miles).

Musudan-ri on the northeast coast is where the North fired a long-range Taepodong-2 rocket on April 5. Wonsan is a city on the southeast coast, where another missile base is located.

Yonhap quoted one official as saying the North may have been trying to deter US aerial surveillance efforts following the nuclear test.

Japan's coast guard said last week the communist state was warning ships not to pass through waters within a 130 kilometre radius of the town of Kimchaek on its northeast coast.

The North says its April 5 launch put a satellite into orbit but other nations said it staged a disguised missile test. The UN Security Council condemned the launch and tightened sanctions on Pyongyang firms.

In response the North threatened more nuclear and missile tests. It announced Monday it had conducted a second nuclear test, more powerful than the first in October 2006.

The test was conducted in the Kilju region not far from Musudan-ri.

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