VietJoy

A man watches a TV screen showing a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 1, 2020.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea has launched two unknown projectiles, South Korea’s military reported Monday -- apparently the North’s first rocket launches of the year.

The projectiles were fired from the Wonsan area toward the sea off North Korea’s east coast, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It did not say what type of weapons were launched or how far they traveled.

The launch suggests North Korea will continue provocations, even as it implements emergency measures to prevent or contain a coronavirus outbreak. North Korean authorities have warned those virus containment measures are a matter of “national survival.”

North Korea last conducted a projectile launch in late November. That test came as North Korea was warning of its end-of-year deadline for the United States to offer more concessions in nuclear talks.