North Korea launches ballistic missiles

The North Korea fired on Saturday 21 (local, Friday schedule in Brazil) two short - range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, reported Yonhap news agency, citing military

 from South Korea.

The launch originated in North Pyongan province, the agency said, citing the Southern Joint Chiefs of Staff. The North Korean government commented only that it had carried out “long-range artillery exercises”, but Japan said it the projectiles appeared to be ballistic missiles.

Japan's Ministry of Defense also confirmed North Korean launches. Just before Yonhap's report on the launch, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the country would convene its parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, on April 10.

The South Korean army condemned the launches in a note as "extremely inappropriate, given the difficult situation the world is facing due to Covid-19 (...) We urge you to stop immediately".

North Korea did not register any cases of coronavirus, which turned into a major crisis with 11,300 deaths and more than 270,000 infections worldwide. Due to the country's closed regime, analysts believe the government's disclosure of information may be being filtered.

However, health experts warned that the eventual arrival of the epidemic in North Korea could devastate the country, due to its weak medical infrastructure and widespread malnutrition.