North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, a day after Seoul concluded five days of joint maritime exercises with the United States and Japan.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
The launches were detected at around 5:20 a.m. local time, with the missiles travelling approximately 250 kilometres (155 miles), according to the JCS.
South Korean and US intelligence authorities tracked the launches from their initial stages and shared information about the missiles with Japan, the JCS said.
The latest launches came after North Korea criticised the so-called Freedom Edge exercises, which were conducted in international waters off South Korea. Pyongyang had described the drills as a threat to North Korea and other countries in the region.
North Korea has repeatedly condemned military exercises involving the United States and South Korea, accusing the allies of preparing for an invasion. Pyongyang has frequently responded to such drills with missile tests.
The latest launch also follows a barrage of missiles fired by North Korea on August 20, despite US President Donald Trump’s stated interest in resuming dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump said on August 19 that he planned to meet Kim again this year and stressed the importance of maintaining a relationship with the North Korean leader.
Trump and Kim held three high-profile meetings during Trump’s first term in office, but their efforts to reach a deal on North Korea’s nuclear programme ultimately failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers earlier this month that a summit between Trump and Kim could take place “at any time”, citing signs of possible renewed dialogue.
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister and a senior figure in Pyongyang, previously welcomed the decision to scale back US-South Korea military exercises but criticised Seoul’s security policies and its close military relationship with Washington.
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