NOT NOW, KIM

North Korea Fires Weapons After Threats of ‘Momentous Action’

Analysts say Kim Jong Un may be trying to catch South Korea off-guard as it battles the novel coronavirus.

North Korea fired three short-range projectiles on Monday, just two days after it threatened “momentous” action to protest South Korea’s condemnation and “strong regret” over its earlier test fires. But analysts say North Korea may actually be using the new testing to catch South Korea off-guard before seeking help over its own yet-undocumented struggle with the novel coronavirus. The Associated Press reports that analysts believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is using the new test fires to distract against bigger problems. “The coronavirus is likely exceeding North Korea’s public health capacity, so Kim Jong Un is playing a two-level game,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University. “At the domestic level, his regime claims to protect the people with drastic quarantine measures and military exercises against external threats, but Pyongyang may be seeking international assistance, but remains obsessed with not appearing in an inferior position to Seoul.”