The isolated Asian nation fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the ocean off its east coast on Sunday.
South Korea has described the latest flurry of weapon launches as “inappropriate” amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff report that the two “short-range projectiles” were launched from the coastal Wonsan area on Sunday, and flew 230 kilometres (143 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30 kilometres (19 miles).
In a statement, Al Jazeera quoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying that “In a situation where the entire world is experiencing difficulties due to COVID-19, this kind of military act by North Korea is very inappropriate and we call for an immediate halt.”
Also reacting to North Korea’s military action, Japan, through its Ministry of Defense said the projectiles appeared to be ballistic missiles.
It however, noted that the missiles did not land in Japanese territory or its exclusive economic zone.
The Ministry’s statement added, “Recent repeated firings of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious problem to the entire international community including Japan.”
While other countries are battling with COVID-19, North Korea has fired nine missiles in four rounds of tests this month being the most missiles ever tested in a single month by the country as Coronavirus infects more than 660,000 people worldwide.
North Korea has steadfastly denied there has been a single case of the virus confirmed on its soil.
