N Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea
North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea early Saturday, South Korea’s military reported, just one day after Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo concluded their trilateral military exercise, Qazinform News Agency cites Yonhap.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected several missiles fired from the Wonsan area around 5:20 a.m.
The missiles traveled about 250 kilometers before landing in the sea.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence tracked the launches from the early stages and shared information with Japan.
“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s movements under a firm South Korea-U.S. defense posture, and maintains readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocations,” the JCS said.
Sources indicated the North likely fired Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles along with rounds from 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
The launch followed the Freedom Edge exercise, a five-day trilateral drill in international waters near Jeju Island, which ended Friday.
North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song-gi had denounced the trilateral drills earlier in the week, warning of “reflective countermeasures.”
The North last fired short-range ballistic missiles on Aug. 20, during the UFS drills.
Saturday’s launch comes ahead of a planned Trump–Xi Jinping summit in Washington, D.C., later this month, where North Korea is expected to be on the agenda.
Earlier, it was reported North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile eastward in August, with the projectile believed to have landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
