LEAD: Abe blasts N. Korea's reported missile launches

(EDS: ADDING MORE INFO)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday criticized North Korea's reported test-firings of short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan the previous day as violating a U.N. Security Council resolution.

The resolution ''calls on North Korea to abandon its ballistic missile programs. I think North Korea must respond to the concerns of the international community,'' Abe told reporters at his office.

He added he believes the development does not pose a threat to Japan's security, but refused to confirm whether the missiles launched were ballistic missiles, saying it concerns intelligence.

Abe said North Korea should concentrate its efforts on improving the livelihood of its people rather than engaging in missile-launching activities.

According to some news reports, U.S. Defense Department officials said North Korea test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles.

Earlier in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki declined to comment on the incident, also citing the need not to divulge confidential information.

Shiozaki, the top government spokesman, referred to a White House National Security Council spokesman's comment that the United States is ''deeply troubled'' that North Korea has decided to launch the missiles at a delicate time involving the six-party nuclear talks.

''I want to refrain from commenting on specific information on individual cases because it concerns intelligence,'' Shiozaki said, emphasizing the importance for North Korea to abstain from increasing tension in the region and to take initial denuclearization steps.

He stopped short of saying whether the missile launches violate the 2002 Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration, in which North Korea promised to maintain a moratorium on missile launches. ''In general, (the moratorium) covers ballistic missiles that directly concern our country's safety,'' Shiozaki said.

Abe, when asked about the Pyongyang Declaration, said the North Koreans have committed various violations of the agreement, including in the nuclear and abduction areas.

Last July, North Korea test-launched seven ballistic missiles, including a Taepodong-2 long-range missile, prompting the U.N. Security Council to adopt resolutions condemning the launches and imposing various diplomatic and economic sanctions against Pyongyang.