North Korea fired two Rodong-1 missiles simultaneously in 1993, a Japanese daily reported in Tokyo Wednesday, quoting a North Korean defector claiming to be involved in the development of a missile guidance system.

In an interview with the Tokyo Shimbun, the defector said... at that time, the missiles could have appeared as one on radar, but actually comprised the firing of two separate projectiles.

The Rodong missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometers, is capable of reaching most parts of Japan, with the exception of Okinawa.

The defector also said that the launch of the missiles was not an actual test-firing, but was an attempt to destroy a coral reef, which was posing a hazard to naval vessels in the area.

He also claimed that the North Korean regime would collapse if 5,000 of the 100,000 people employed in the development of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology were to defect from the communist country.