North Korea fired a cruise missile into the Sea of Japan Monday as it tries to force the United States into nuclear negotiations but Washington appeared unmoved by the action. President Bush showed no signs of impatience with the diplomatic process and consulted with the leaders of Japan and China about a peaceful solution to the crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The United States, which wants to keep the standoff with Pyongyang from hindering its buildup for possible war with Iraq, had anticipated the launch, the second in as many weeks, and played down its significance.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer dismissed Pyongyang's widely anticipated testing of a short-range missile and suggested that, unlike Iraq, time for diplomacy on North Korea was not about to run out.

South Korea also remained calm, after Pyongyang declared a maritime exclusion zone in the Sea of Japan from March 8 to 11.

The firing nonetheless caused Seoul's stock markets to dip and helped push the won currency to a four-month low, adding to fears voiced by a Seoul private-sector think-tank that a prolonged nuclear crisis and any protracted Iraq conflict would slash 2003 growth prospects for Asia's fourth-largest economy.

North Korea's state media blasted the United States.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. B-1 bomber takes off from Andersen Air Force Base on the western Pacific island of Guam, March 10, 2003. The exercises were held the same day North Korea fired a cruise missile into the Sea of Japan, its second test in two weeks. (Sam White/Reuters)