North Korea fires ballistic missiles after Covid-19 outbreak
North Korea fired three ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, on the day it first reported a Covid19 outbreak. It is the latest such move by the country racing to advance its weapons programmes South Korea said.
Japan’s coastguard confirmed the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea, citing its military. The projectile appeared to fall outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, public broadcaster NHK said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from the Sunan area of the North’s capital, Pyongyang, where an international airport is located and where the North had said it fired its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, on March 24.
The missiles flew approximately 360 kilometres (224 miles), reaching an altitude of 90 km and a maximum velocity of Mach 5, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.