North Korea fires suspected cruise missiles, says Seoul
The suspected launches come as South Korea prepares to go to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday 14 April 2020 12:15, UK
North Korea has fired several suspected cruise missiles from both the ground and air off the country's east coast, according to South Korea's military.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew more than 93 miles (150km) at a low altitude.
Tuesday's suspected missile tests came on the eve of a national holiday in North Korea to celebrate the 108th birthday of the country's late founder, Kim Il Sung - the grandfather of the country's current leader, Kim Jong Un.
South Korea said the North had launched multiple short-range anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea while Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles.
Seoul said Pyongyang had recently appeared to resume military drills which it had scaled back due to concerns around the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea's military gave no indication of how many missiles were fired, but said a detailed analysis of the launches was being conducted together with U.S. intelligence.
If confirmed, it is the third set of weapons testing by Pyongyang since the beginning of March, following a four-month hiatus.
On Sunday, North Korean state media reported the country's leader had visited an airbase and observed drills by the country's fighter jets and attack aircraft.
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The suspected launches also come as South Korea prepares to hold parliamentary elections amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Some experts say North Korea is now attempting to catch South Korea off balance before seeking help to revive its economy.
Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor at Seoul's Ewha Womans University, said: "The coronavirus is likely exceeding North Korea's public health capacity, so Kim Jong Un is playing a two-level game.
"At the domestic level, his regime claims to protect the people with drastic quarantine measures and military exercises against external threats.
"Pyongyang may be seeking international assistance, but remains obsessed with not appearing in an inferior position to Seoul."
Nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the US has largely stalled since the breakdown of a second summit between the North Korean leader and President Donald Trump in February 2019 in Vietnam.
The two countries have been in a face-off for months over the next steps in their negotiations, with North Korea refusing to disarm in return for a reprieve on its sanctions - dashing hopes of denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula.