North Korea have rreportedly launched two short-range projectiles on Monday March 2nd 2020, South Korea’s military said—a move that comes as the North scrambles to prevent a potentially disastrous coronavirus outbreak within its borders.
According to the report, the two weapons were fired from the Wonsan area toward the sea off North Korea’s east coast, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The projectiles traveled approximately 240 kilometers at a maximum height of 35 kilometers, it added.
North Korea has not commented on the launch. But officials in Seoul say the test was likely part of North Korean military drills that started last week. South Korea’s National Security Council expressed “strong concern” about the moves, which it said do not help military tensions.
A U.S. State Department spokesman said “We are aware of reports of projectiles launched from North Korea, and continue to monitor the situation.”
Last year, North Korea launched 13 rounds of short- or medium-range missiles or rockets, amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States. But this is North Korea’s first detected launch since the beginning of the year.
In recent weeks, North Korea has focused on emergency coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention efforts, which authorities have called a matter of “national survival.”
Though North Korea continues to insist it has detected no coronavirus cases, authorities have shut down foreign tourism, quarantined all arriving foreigners, and even prevented foreign diplomats from leaving their compounds. State media say nearly 7,000 people are being medically monitored.
Some experts said the coronavirus concerns could help reduce military tensions, especially after the United States and South Korea last week indefinitely postponed joint military drills that North Korea sees as a provocation.
See also: Report: North Korea’s First Confirmed Case of Coronavirus, Patients Shot Dead
But the latest launch suggests North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sees little benefit in restarting diplomacy and instead intends to raise the stakes ahead of important elections in both the United States and South Korea, says Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
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