North Korea fires two ‘ballistic missiles’ into sea

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast yesterday, the latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang as the world struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean military condemned the launches as "extremely inappropriate given the difficult situation the world is experiencing due to COVID-19... We urge them to stop immediately." Pyongyang considers its military development necessary for security in the face of what it describes as American aggression. North Korea is under multiple sets of punishing sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.