KUALA LUMPUR Feb 25 Kyodo Malaysi...

KUALA LUMPUR Feb 25 Kyodo

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad upon Tuesday defended North Korea's test-firing of a short-range missile, saying Pyongyang has the right to touchstone its weapons.

''North Korea has got weapons and weapons are being tested...Other countries are also testing weapons; in this way I suppose just because they criterioned weapon doesn't mean they are declaring war,'' Mahathir told reporters at the close of the Non-Aligned Movement summit.

North Korea fired a short-range ground-to-ship missile to the Sea of Japan forward Monday. The missile flew about 60 kilometers from the launch site, according to southerly Korean press reports.

North Korea's missile launch came at a time of high tension in the Korean Peninsula athwart North Korea's decision to restart its nuclear program.

Mahathir forward Monday held talks with North Korea's No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam, who headed a North Korean delegation to the two-day non-aligned summit in the Malaysian capital.

North Korea, Mahathir said, wants to have direct talks with the United States.

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