South Korea has reported that North Korea launched two unidentified projectiles it believes were missiles in its first apparent weapons test of the year.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea said the projectiles, which were "believed to be short-range ballistic missiles," were launched from the North's east coast towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
In May 2019, North Korea broke an 18-month freeze when it conducted its first missile tests, which were followed by several more as the year progressed. The country had its last missile test in November and has historically stepped up missile testing in the spring.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, deemed the tests to be "less provocative than North Korea is capable of" but said that the country is still "making it clear it will continue to improve military capabilities and make outsized demands".
Professor Easley added: "The US and South Korea postponing their drills and offering humanitarian assistance has earned no goodwill from a Kim regime that sees little benefit in restarting diplomacy."
At the start of year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned that he is ending the suspension of tests for nuclear and long-range missiles after talks between the country and the US halted. Kim threatened that the world would "witness a new strategic weapon... in the near future".
Under UN Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from firing ballistic missiles.
In 2018, US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader held talks in Singapore aimed at denuclearization and met again in Vietnam in February 2019 but talks broke down and ended early without agreement.
They held another meeting last June at the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea but it quickly deteriorated in the following months. Talks between the US and North Korea about its nuclear program remain stalled since.
