Seoul calls North Korea ‘very inappropriate’ for firing missiles during pandemic

Seoul has called North Korea “very inappropriate” for firing two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea as the world battles the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff had said a single projectile was launched on Sunday morning, but revised their report to state two suspected missiles were fired from the North’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan.

These projectiles later landed in water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

South Korea’s military described the launches as “very inappropriate” amid the coronavirus outbreak and urged North Korea to stop such military action.

North Korea has fired a series of missiles and artillery shells in recent weeks in an apparent attempt to upgrade its military capability amid deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States.

The talks have stalled since the breakdown of a second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in Vietnam in early 2019.

A week ago, Pyongyang said Mr Trump sent a personal letter to Mr Kim, seeking to maintain good relations and offering cooperation in fighting the outbreak.

North Korean state media did not report if Mr Trump mentioned any of the latest weapons tests by the North.