Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters). – North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles towards the east coast of the Sea off the Korean Peninsula on Thursday. It is the latest in a series of moves by an isolated nation trying to expand its arsenal since it reported a COVID-19 occurrence.

Japan’s coastguard confirmed that a North Korean ballistic missile was launched, and cited its military. According to NHK, the projectile appears to have been launched outside Japan’s economic exclusive zone.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said that three short-range missiles had been fired from Pyongyang’s Sunan region. This is where an international airport can be found. On March 24, the North claimed it had fired the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic ballistic missile (ICBM).

It was the first firebombing since Yoon Seok-yeol, the South Korean conservative president, was inaugurated this week. Yoon has been vocal in his opposition to North Korean weapons development.

Yoon’s office stated that it convened an immediate meeting of its national safety council.

Launch was also the 16th North known weapon test for this year. This came just hours after North declared its coronavirus infection and ordered a nationwide lockdown.

The North tested its final weapons weapon on Saturday using a sub-launched missile ballistic missile. This is something it has been actively developing over the past few years.

Kim Jong Un was the North Korean leader and vowed, late last month, to speed up the nation’s nuclear arsenal building amid stagnant denuclearisation negotiations with the United States.

Officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan have indicated that Pyongyang could conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.