SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea fired several suspected cruise missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, the latest in a slew of weapons launches by the North despite worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the projectiles – presumed to be cruise missiles – were fired from the North’s eastern Kangwon province on Tuesday morning before flying toward its eastern sea.
It said South Korea’s military was monitoring possible additional launches by North Korea. It gave no further details, such as exactly how many projectile were launched and what type of projectiles they were.
The launches came on the eve of the 108th birthday of North Korea’s late founder, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. They also came a day ahead of South Korean parliamentary elections.
In recent weeks, North Korea has carried out a series of short-range missile and other weapons tests amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States.