North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang’s international airport, and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles).
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the weapons landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to planes or ships.
The South’s Joint Chiefs said the military has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the U.S. and Japan.
The launches came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops while the Trump administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.
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The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media — citing security camera footage and other images — have speculated that the U.S. is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.
Over the years, North Korea has tested a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles in a push to develop the means to deliver nuclear weapons. Pyongyang has been under multiple UN Security Council sanctions since 2006, but it remains defiant despite the severe obstacles they created to its trade, economy and defense.
South Korea and the U.S. this week had launched major military drills which they say are purely defensive, aimed at testing readiness against military threats from North Korea. North Korea is a nuclear-armed nation that frequently displays its angers and objections to such exercises, saying they are dress rehearsals for armed aggression against it by the allies.
South Korea’s prime minister had met Trump in Washington to discuss ways to reopen, to reinitiate the dialogue with the North Korea, which has been suspended since 2019. Trump administration is also making efforts to reignite high-level talks with Pyongyang, considering a possible summit with Kim Jong-un this year during Trump’s April visit to Beijing.
