In a briefing, White House spokesman Tony Snow confirmed the launch of seven ballistic missiles including the long-range Taepodong 2. The Washington Times quoted Snow as saying that North Korea has two to three short-range Scud missiles or mid-range Rodong missiles that are launchable.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer earlier said he had directly protested against the launch to the North Korean ambassador in Canberra but did not say whether the possibility of further launches was confirmed in that phone conversation.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it detected and monitored each and every missile launch and that interceptors were operational at the time. A Pentagon spokesman said the air defense command quickly determined that the missiles didn't pose a threat to the U.S.

For now, the U.S. is analyzing why the long-range Taepodong 2 missile crashed and whether that was due to structural or guidance problems.

Arirang News