North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast Saturday, a day after the US, South Korea and Japan wrapped up joint military exercises that Pyongyang views as a threat to its security.
The missiles were launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast from around 5:20 a.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message. The missiles flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles) and South Korea and the US are conducting a detailed analysis of their exact specifications, the JCS said.
The military said it had strengthened surveillance and readiness for possible additional launches and was closely sharing information with the US and Japan.
South Korea’s National Security Office convened an emergency security situation review meeting, according to a separate statement. South Korea urged North Korea to immediately halt ballistic missile launches, calling them a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Separately, US Pacific Command said it was aware of the incident and there was no immediate threat to the US and its allies.
The launches add to tensions on the Korean Peninsula as President Donald Trump seeks to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while maintaining security cooperation with Washington’s two key Asian allies.
They came just hours after the three allies concluded the five-day Freedom Edge exercise, which ran through Friday in international waters east and south of South Korea’s Jeju Island. The drills were aimed at improving their ability to respond jointly to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
North Korea had sharply criticized the exercises. Defense Minister Kim Song Gi warned as the drills began that Pyongyang would take “strong and reflective countermeasures” if the US and its allies provoked a military confrontation. Pyongyang has long characterized joint exercises involving Washington as rehearsals for an invasion, while the US and its allies say the exercises are defensive.
The latest drills went ahead even after Trump ordered the US and South Korea to scale back their bilateral Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise last month, a move widely seen as an attempt to create room for renewed diplomacy with Pyongyang. Trump has said he wants to resume talks with Kim, with whom he held three meetings during his first term.
The missile launches also follows North Korea’s unveiling of its second 5,000-ton destroyer this month, part of Kim’s push to expand the country’s naval and nuclear capabilities. Kim attended the commissioning of the Kang Kon in Wonsan and vowed to further strengthen the country’s nuclear forces.
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