North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, coinciding with the start of a large-scale military exercise between South Korea and the United States.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the missiles were fired from North Korea’s Hwanghae province, marking the regime’s fifth missile launch event this year. The test came just hours after Seoul and Washington began their annual “Freedom Shield” drill, an 11-day exercise featuring live, virtual, and field-based training.
North Korea has long condemned these drills as a provocation. In a statement, Pyongyang called the exercises a “dangerous provocative act” that raises the risk of military conflict.
Last week, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned against further “provocations” after a US aircraft carrier arrived in the South Korean port of Busan.
The drills had briefly paused after a mishap last Thursday, when two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian area in Pocheon, near the North Korean border. The incident, caused by human error, left 30 people injured. In response, both US and South Korean forces suspended all live-fire exercises pending an investigation. Officials have stated that live-fire training will resume once the inquiry is complete.
