Continued provocation

North should refrain from escalating tension

North Korea has again come under criticism for launching what appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea. The country fired the two projectiles from Sonchon in North Pyongan Province early Saturday morning. They flew about 410 km with a maximum altitude of 50 km before landing in the sea.

The launches are a provocation. They were the third of their kind after similar launches March 2 and 9. They are also seen as part of Pyongyang's bid to develop new weapons. The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday that Chairman Kim Jong-un oversaw the test of the newly-developed "tactical guided weapon."

As the South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the launches were a very inappropriate act. It is hard to understand why the Kim regime has continued with its provocations at a time when the world is struggling to fight a rapidly spreading new coronavirus. There is no doubt that Kim has put a top priority on the development of new weapons, instead of focusing on ensuring the health of North Koreans.

The North tightened controls on its border with China, where COVID-19 originated from, in the early stages of its outbreak in the neighboring country. Pyongyang has not reported any confirmed cases, although some intelligence agencies and experts presume that the epidemic has already made its way into the reclusive state.

The Kim regime has yet to accept South Korean President Moon Jae-in's offer of help to jointly fight the highly contagious virus. Instead, it has kept test-firing new projectiles, wasting its resources on the development of weapons and saber-rattling. Kim might be trying to consolidate his grip on power by launching missiles and showing off his country's military strength to the world.

But he should realize that any military provocation will further complicate the stalled nuclear talks with the U.S. and strain soured inter-Korean relations further. It will only deepen its isolation, destabilize its security and undermine peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Chairman Kim would do better to accept peace overtures by President Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump and return to dialogue. According to the KCNA, Trump sent a letter to Kim, expressing his willingness to help the North fight COVID-19. Trump seems to have maintained his own personal dialogue channel, possibly to revive momentum for the deadlocked denuclearization talks despite focusing on his re-election campaign.

We hope Kim will respond positively to Trump's letter. It would be better for the North to stop ramping up tensions and resume dialogue with both Washington and Seoul. It should take the road to peace and prosperity, not confrontation and hostility.