North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the sea, Seoul said, just one day after South Korea wrapped up five days of joint maritime exercises with the United States and Japan aimed at countering threats from Pyongyang.
North Korea condemned the so-called Freedom Edge drills last month, describing the exercises in international waters off South Korea as a “threat” to the North and other countries in the region.
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South Korea’s military said it detected “multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea,” also known as the Sea of Japan, according to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The launches took place at about 5.20am South Korean time, or 8.20pm Irish time yesterday, and the missiles travelled roughly 250km, the statement said.
North Korea’s previous test came on 20 August, when it fired a barrage of missiles into the sea despite an overture from US President Donald Trump, who said he intended to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
The nuclear-armed country launched those missiles as South Korea and the United States conducted a scaled-back version of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, following an order from Mr Trump to reduce their size.
The decision unsettled US allies in the region. Mr Trump described the exercises as “inappropriate and hostile” toward North Korea.
Even so, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers earlier this month that a summit between the United States and North Korea could take place “at any time,” pointing to emerging signs of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
Mr Trump met Mr Kim three times during his first term, at one point saying the two men were “in love.” The high-profile summits were intended to produce a denuclearisation agreement, but they yielded no tangible progress.
‘An evident disaster’
Pyongyang has for years denounced joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea as invasion rehearsals and has frequently carried out missile launches during the drills.
Mr Trump, who is seeking to restore the relationship he says he established with Mr Kim during his first term, told reporters at the White House on 19 August that he planned to meet the North Korean leader this year.
The US president also said it was important to “get along” with Mr Kim, claiming that North Korea now possessed 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.
Several hours after the 20 August launches, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s influential sister, said Washington’s decision to scale back the exercises with South Korea amounted to punishment for Seoul.
In a statement, she called the move “an evident disaster brought by the unrealistic and anachronistic security outlook” pursued by Seoul. She also argued that South Korea maintained a “master-and-servant” relationship with the United States.
