Launches come as President Trump had ordered the allies to reduce joint drills, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea launched approximately 10 short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Thursday afternoon, according to local media outlets citing the South Korean military.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the missiles being fired around 5 p.m. from the Pyongyang area, marking North Korea’s 12th launch episode this year, according to the JTBC cable network.
South Korea’s military has “strengthened its surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches,” the Joint Chiefs said, according to the report.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are “maintaining a full state of readiness while closely sharing intelligence regarding North Korean ballistic missiles,” the Joint Chiefs added.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense said the missiles appeared to have fallen outside the country’s exclusive economic zone, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
A spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a text message for comment Thursday. U.S. Forces Korea also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The launches came a day before Washington and Seoul’s Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise is set to wrap on Friday. President Donald Trump ordered the allies to reduce joint drills, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The training began Monday and was slated to continue through Aug. 27, but will now conclude after five days, the Joint Chiefs announced Wednesday.
It is one of two major exercises carried out annually by U.S. and South Korean troops.That decision came after Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social that he has ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the allies’ military exercises.
In a White House briefing on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that the “massive war exercise” is “very insulting” to Kim, who has been “very well-behaved” during his term, according to online video of the briefing.
Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, head of general affairs for the ruling Workers’ Party, said Wednesday that Trump’s decision to cut down the exercise was “unworthy of comment.”
She also pointed to Ulchi Freedom Shield as evidence that the United States’ “hostile policy” toward North Korea remains unchanged.
- Security