North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into its eastern sea yesterday as it begins to resume weapons demonstrations after a months-long hiatus that could have been forced by the coronavirus crisis in Asia. The launches came two days after North Korea’s state media said leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in front-line and eastern areas.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles fired from an area near the coastal town of Wonsan flew about 240 kilometers (149 miles) northeast on an apogee of about 35 kilometers (22 miles). It said the South Korean and US militaries were jointly analyzing the launches but didn’t immediately confirm whether the weapons were ballistic or rocket artillery.

North Korea likely tested one of its new road-mobile, solid-fuel missile systems or a developmental “super

large” multiple rocket launcher it repeatedly demonstrated last year, said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. Experts say such weapons can potentially overwhelm missile defense systems and expand the North’s ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.

Kim Jong Un had entered the New Year vowing to bolster his nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” US sanctions and pressure, using a key ruling party meeting in late December to warn of “shocking” action over stalled nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.