N. Korea Extends Series Of Cruise Missiles Tests Ahead Of South's Legislative Election

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korea test-fired several cruise missiles off its east coast, without specifying the number of projectiles or the details of the launch. The incident marked North Korea's fifth cruise missile test this year as Pyongyang continues to demonstrate growing assertiveness towards its southern neighbour and its allies.

• Repeated missile tests serve the double function of allowing Pyongyang to pursue its longer-term aim of diversifying the range of available nuclear delivery systems and a short-term aim of destabilising regional geopolitics ahead of South Korea's April parliamentary election.
• Yonhap News Agency reported that President Yoon Suk-yeol has postponed his visits to Germany and Denmark planned for next week amid speculation that the leader intends to focus on domestic matters, including North Korean provocations, in the lead-up to the April poll.
• The April 10 election is shaping to be a neck-and-neck race, with uncertainty boosted by the announcement of the former leaders of two major political blocs (conservative Lee Jun-seok and liberal Lee Nak-yon) that they would form a new party in a bid to challenge the existing duopoly.