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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) – North Korea fired two unidentified short-range projectiles from an area near the coastal city of Wonsan into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, the South Korean Armed Forces said Monday.
The objects were shot at 12:37 pm Korean time and are estimated to have a flight distance of 240 kilometers and an altitude of 35 kilometers (22 miles), the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
Projectiles are probably part of the combined military exercises of North Korea, said the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The drills began on Friday, on the first anniversary of the leader’s summit Kim Jong Un in Hanoi with the president of U.S, Donald Trump, which ended without an agreement.
North Korean state media reported that Kim presided over the exercise, which he intended to “judge the mobility and attack capacity of defense units.”
The Japanese Ministry of Defense said it still could not confirm whether the projectiles landed within its territory or exclusive economic zone, and said that no damage to aircraft or vessels had been reported in the area.
“The recent repeated launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious problem for the international community, including Japan,” he said in a statement.
South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong and other ministers held an urgent meeting to discuss the launch this afternoon, according to the South Korean Presidential Blue House.
The South Korean Armed Forces are “monitoring related movements for possible additional launches and maintaining their readiness,” said the statement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
If it were a missile test, it would be Pyongyang’s first in 2020. Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would continue to “constantly develop” nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to use them unless Washington changes course and abandon what Pyongyang calls his “politics hostile”.
Weapons experts say test missiles are an important part of improving their accuracy and reliability. North Korea made several launches in 2019 when diplomatic efforts between Pyongyang and Washington began to fail, but the country avoided testing missiles of intercontinental reach or detonating nuclear weapons underground.
However, a report yet to be published by a United Nations panel found that North Korea’s arms development continued last year in violation of the long-standing sanctions of the UN Security Council.
Although weapons testing is important for development purposes, North Korean military movements are often timed to obtain maximum political impact both at home and abroad.
Neighboring South Korea is dealing with a massive outbreak of the new coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of at least 26 people and infected more than 4,200. North Korea has not publicly reported any cases within its borders, but experts say it is plausible that the virus has reached the country. All other countries in East Asia have confirmed numerous cases.
The United States and South Korea decided to postpone military exercises due to the outbreak. These exercises generally provoke the anger of North Korea.
“The United States and South Korea postponed their defense drills and offered humanitarian assistance, but they have not earned the goodwill of a Kim regime that sees little benefit in restarting the diplomatic channel,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor at the Ewha University in Seoul, in an email.
Seoul is also preparing to hold elections for the National Assembly, and the ruling Democratic Party of President Moon Jae-in could suffer as a result of its declining popularity. Many voters feel that Moon has not yet fulfilled its promises to repair the economy, now in a state of change due to the coronavirus, and reach some kind of lasting agreement with North Korea.
US voters also go to the polls on Tuesday for supermars primaries.
“Pyongyang instead seems to intend to increase bets before the April elections in South Korea and before the supermars primary of the US presidential campaign,” Easley said.
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