North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea's military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang's international airport, and flew about 220 miles, per the AP. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the weapons landed outside the country's exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to planes or ships.
The South's Joint Chiefs said the military has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the US and Japan. The launches came as the US and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops, while the Trump administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East. The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media, citing security camera footage and other images, have speculated that the US is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.
The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Seoul's No. 2 official, met US President Trump in Washington and expressed hope for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung seeks improved inter-Korean relations, and some of his top officials have said Trump's expected visit to China, starting March 31, may create an opening with Pyongyang. Saturday's launches, however, appeared to dim such hopes, signaling defiance by Pyongyang, which in recent months has hardened its stance toward Seoul and urged Washington to drop denuclearization demands as a precondition for talks.
North Korea has long described the allies' drills as invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up its own military demonstrations or weapons testing. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Tuesday criticized DC and Seoul for proceeding with their drills at a perilous moment for global security, warning that any challenge to the North's safety would bring "terrible consequences."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
