North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Missiles Into Eastern Sea, South Korea Says

Bank of America ‘Already Seeing Evidence’ of Coronavirus Economic Impact

A senior Bank of America economist said early signs of an impact of coronavirus on the U.S. economy were already visible in some leading indicators. Michelle Meyer, Bank of America’s head of U.S. economics, said in a note on Feb. 28 that “it will take time for the ‘hard’ economic data to show the impact but we are already seeing evidence in early economic indicators.” Major stock market indexes suffered their worst week since the financial crisis last week amid a virus-driven equities selloff and associated lurch towards safe-haven assets like bonds. U.S. Treasuries absorbed major capital flows last week, with the yield on the 10-year note hitting a new record low. Bond yields move in the opposite direction to prices, with falling yields a sign of growing interest by investors,…

SEOUL—North Korea fired two short-range missiles off the east coast into the sea on Monday, resuming testing after a three-month pause, South Korea’s military said.

The missiles were launched from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan and flew 240 km (149 miles) and reached 35 km in altitude, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. North Korea has launched a series of missiles from the area in the past.

The North appears to be continuing a firing drill that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw last Friday, the JCS said, adding that the South was monitoring for potential additional launches.

Monday’s launch was the first since North Korea fired what it called “super-large multiple rocket launchers” on Nov. 28.

South Korea’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, held an emergency video conference with ministers, the presidential Blue House said.

“The ministers expressed strong concern over North Korea’s resumption of short-range missile launches in three months,” the Blue House said in a statement. “Such actions are unhelpful for efforts to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and they urged North Korea to stop them.”

North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Missiles Into Eastern Sea, South Korea Says

Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean Navy officer who teaches at Kyungnam University in Seoul, said the test “was likely to show off their self-defense capabilities to their people to shore up Kim’s campaign for economic development while boosting military morale.”

South Korea and the United States indefinitely decided to postpone joint military drills amid a growing coronavirus outbreak in South Korea that has now infected soldiers from both countries.

South Korea on Monday reported 476 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 4,212.

Last week, Kim convened a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful politburo to discuss stricter enforcement of anti-epidemic steps, state media said.

By Hyonhee Shin and Sangmi Cha

This article is from the Internet:North Korea Fires Two Short-Range Missiles Into Eastern Sea, South Korea Says

Enemy Is China, Experts Warn at the Annual Gathering of Conservatives

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The increasingly rising threat that China poses to the United States was a hot topic at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the largest annual gathering of conservatives in the country. At a panel discussion titled “The Present Danger: China” on Feb. 27, a Republican lawmaker framed the communist regime as “insidious.” And China experts criticized Beijing over its efforts to deflect blame for coronavirus outbreak onto the United States. Speaking at the event, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said after four decades, Americans have started to realize the threat posed by China’s military and economic rise. He likened the Communist Party’s strategy to the famous “Trojan horse” in Greek mythology, a massive hollow wooden horse constructed by the Greeks to gain entrance into the city of Troy…