SEOUL — North Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's military said, calling the action "highly inappropriate" given the global coronavirus pandemic. The suspected missiles were fired around 6:45-50 a.m. KST into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula from around Sonchon, North Pyongan province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Sonchon is above Pyongyang, near the northwest corner of the Korean peninsula. "Such military action by North Korea is highly inappropriate at a time when COVID-19 is causing difficulties worldwide," the JCS said, calling for an "immediate stop". The missile launch came just hours after North Korea confirmed it would go ahead with a session of the Supreme People's Assembly, its rubber-stamp legislature, in Pyongyang.

Source: International New York Times March 21, 2020 00:41 UTC