North Korea has fired projectiles - apparently ballistic missiles - for the fourth time in March at a time when the international community is turning its full attention to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

These trials take place in a context of diplomatic stalemate between North Korea and the United States over nuclear weapons, and when Washington has just offered to help Pyongyang to fight Covid-19 .

The shooting on Sunday was fired in the area of ​​the port city of Wonsan, on the east coast, and in the direction of the Sea of ​​Japan (called by the Korean East Sea).

"This military action by North Korea is a particularly inappropriate gesture when the entire world is experiencing difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic," said the South Korean staff in a statement. He added that everything seemed to indicate that the projectiles were ballistic missiles.

The Japanese Defense Ministry also said they looked like "ballistic missiles" and said they did not land in Japanese waters or in Japan's exclusive maritime economic zone.

Trump letter

North Korea, a country endowed with the atomic bomb, had no comment on the launches. About the previous three series of shots fired into the Sea of ​​Japan in March, he had said they were evidence of "long-range artillery" artifacts.

Last week, he claimed he had tried a new "guided tactical weapon . " Seoul considered these to be two short-range ballistic missiles.

North Korea is under multiple sanctions from the UN Security Council to force it to give up its banned nuclear and ballistic programs.

The day after last week's shooting, North Korean media announced that leader Kim Jong Un had received a letter from United States President Donald Trump detailing a project to improve bilateral relations. The White House confirmed this.

The North Korean press quoted Kim's sister and adviser, Kim Yo Jong, who warned that the good personal relationship between the latter and Trump would not be enough to boost relations.

No reported coronavirus cases

In the letter, Trump "explained his plan to boost relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States and expressed his intention to help in the fight against epidemics," referring to the coronavirus , according to a press release released by KCNA.

North Korea is one of the few countries in the world in not having announced cases of contagion in its territory .

Many experts believe that the pandemic that has already killed more than 30,000 people worldwide could be catastrophic in North Korea, given the shortcomings of its healthcare system.

Sunday's launch was aimed at showing that the country continues to function normally , despite the pandemic affecting the world, said Kim Dong-yub, a researcher at the Seoul-based Far East Studies Institute.

North Korea has multiplied weapons tests since November in the absence of progress in the negotiations with which the United States hopes it will abandon its nuclear program.

The negotiations have been at a standstill since the failure of the second summit between Trump and Kim, in February 2019 in Hanoi, despite a very symbolic meeting between the two leaders in June in the demilitarized zone that divides the peninsula.

According to analysts, Pyongyang is gradually improving its military capabilities, despite sanctions and convictions.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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