"The Federal Government vehemently condemns today’s test by North Korea of two short-range ballistic missiles. After two tests of many missiles this month and a total of 15 tests since May 2019, the DPRK again violated its obligations arising from ... UN Security Council resolutions", the German foreign office said, adding that this irresponsibly undermines international security.
The missiles were fired at 6:45 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. (21:45 and 21:50 on 20 March GMT), the Yonhap News Agency reported citing the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). According to the JCS, the missiles flew 410 kilometres with a maximum altitude of around 50 kilometres. The South Korean military described Pyongyang’s tests as “a very inappropriate act” amid the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19.
Saturday’s North Korean tests have become the third in a row after those conducted on 2 March and 9 March.
In December 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said North Korea would continue developing nuclear weapons and would introduce a new strategic weapon in the near future, since it did not see that its efforts for denuclearization were being met by Washington, which continued to supply strategic weapons to Seoul. In 2019, the last launches of short-range projectiles into the Sea of Japan were carried out by Pyongyang in November.
