North Korea fires ballistic missiles as US-South Korea drills near end

What the report says

North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera’s report, prompting South Korea to call an emergency security meeting with defence and military officials. Seoul said the launches, fired from the Pyongyang area toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula, were a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions and urged North Korea to stop further missile tests.

The incident came as South Korea and the United States were nearing the end of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which had been shortened after US President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in the drills. Al Jazeera reported that Trump has framed the scaling back as part of an effort to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, while Pyongyang has long denounced the joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and often times missile activity around them.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles traveled about 300km. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers the weapons were believed to be 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, a system North Korea has previously said could carry tactical nuclear warheads. He also said North Korea is thought to have between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.

The launches and the US decision to curb drills have drawn attention from regional powers, with Russian and Chinese officials offering contrasting reactions. The episode underscores how military exercises, missile testing and Trump’s outreach to Pyongyang remain tightly linked to broader tensions on the Korean Peninsula.