Firepower strike site for long-range artillery subunits of the Korean People's Army
Seoul:
North Korea fired three projectiles, the Seoul military said on Monday, a week after launch, as the south said, two short-range ballistic missiles.
Three units were fired from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong province to the east over the sea, the joint chiefs of staff of the south said in a statement.
"The military is monitoring further launches and maintaining readiness," he added.
The start on Monday was the second arms test of the north in a week.
After the start last week, the state media of the north said leader Kim Jong Un had monitored a "long-range artillery" exercise, but it was not clear whether these two incidents were the same last week.
The final launch was days after Kim sent a personal letter to the President of the South, Moon Jae-in, offering "consolation" for the rapid outbreak of the new coronavirus outbreak in the country.
This message followed an unprecedented statement from Kim's younger sister, Yo Jong, when she said Seoul's condemnation of Pyongyang's weapon test last week was a "really senseless act" and "utterly stupid."
The north conducted a series of weapons tests late last year, the last one in November, which it often referred to as multi-launch missile systems, although others referred to them as ballistic missiles.
Static engine tests were also performed, most recently in December.
At a party conference later in the month, Kim said Pyongyang was no longer bound by its moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile testing and was soon threatening to demonstrate a "new strategic weapon".
It starts as the nuclear negotiations with the US come to a standstill and after a unilateral deadline Pyongyang makes new concessions for Washington to ease sanctions.
Earlier this year, the one-year anniversary of the collapsed summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi passed away.
Pyongyang has received multiple sanctions for its weapons programs from the United Nations Security Council, the United States, South Korea, and others.
The heightened tensions in 2017 were followed by two years of nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington, including three meetings between Kim and Trump, but little concrete progress has been made.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
