According to the defense ministry report submitted to the chief of the parliamentary defense committee, the DPRK’s projectile launches over the weekend were seen as a live-fire exercise, rather than a provocation.
It was seen as a live-fire exercise given the launches having happened in an open space in the morning. In the past, the DPRK launched missiles in an unidentified place before dawn.
The DPRK fired several short-range projectiles Saturday morning into the waters from its east coast city of Wonsan. The projectiles traveled between 70 km and 240 km at an altitude of 20 km to 60 km, according to the Seoul ministry.
The parliamentary defense committee chief told a press briefing that the DPRK’s projectile launches seemed to be aimed at giving signals to both South Korea and the United States.
The DPRK’s projectile firing came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February in Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
Following the projectile firing, Trump said on his Tweeter account that the DPRK leader “does not want to break his promise,” noting that “deal (with DPRK) will happen.”
