Seoul: North Korea on Monday fired two presumed short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea, South Korean officials said, resuming weapons demonstrations after a months-long hiatus that may have been forced by the coronavirus crisis in Asia.
The launches came two days after North Korea’s state media said that leader Kim Jong-un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in front-line and eastern areas.
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South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles were fired from an area near the coastal town of Wonsan and flew about 240 Kilometres (149 miles) northeast on an apogee of about 35 Kilometres (22 miles). It said that the South Korean and US militaries were jointly analysing the launches. JCS officials later told reporters that the weapons were presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles.
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North Korea likely tested one of its new road-mobile, solid-fuel missile systems or a developmental “super-large” multiple rocket launcher it repeatedly demonstrated last year, said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies. Experts said that such weapons can potentially overwhelm missile defence systems and expand the North’s ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.
With inputs from AP
