North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea on Saturday, its neighbours said, a day after the US, South Korea and Japan ended their trilateral military exercise that Pyongyang viewed as a provocation.
The short-range ballistic missile launches, the first in three weeks, came as North Korea continued its weapons displays after rebuffing US president Donald Trump‘s decision to scale back a major military drill with South Korea in a goodwill gesture.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches of several missiles from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area. It said the missiles flew about 250km each in a direction towards North Korea’s eastern waters.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff added it had boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the launches with the US and Japan.
South Korea’s presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to halt ballistic missile firings in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The US Pacific Command said the latest missile launches didn’t pose an immediate threat to American territory or to its allies.
On Friday, the US, South Korea and Japan ended their five-day Freedom Edge exercise as scheduled. The US Pacific Command said the militaries of the three countries “trained side by side across air, sea and cyber domains, sharpening the interoperability that keeps the region secure”. It cited maritime manoeuvres, air refuelling, cyber coordination, and medical drills.
South Korea’s military said earlier that the exercise was defensive in nature and meant to enhance a joint response capability against North Korean nuclear threats.
But hours after the exercise began on Monday, North Korean defence minister Kim Song Gi slammed it as “provocative” and threatened to take “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power”.
Supporters of the Korean Peace Solidarity for Sovereignty and Reunification protest against the South Korea, US and Japan trilateral military exercise Freedom Edge in front of the American embassy in Seoul on 7 September 2026 (AFP/Getty)
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for building a more reliable nuclear deterrent in a ceremony to commission the country’s second naval destroyer.
North Korea says its two destroyers can carry nuclear-capable missiles.
The second destroyer was damaged during a botched launch last year but was relaunched after repairs.
Mr Kim has focused on expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal after his high-stakes diplomacy with Mr Trump collapsed in 2019.
Mr Trump last month ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with South Korea. He cited what he called a good relationship with Mr Kim, who had called the drill an invasion rehearsal.
But Mr Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, rebuffed Mr Trump’s move, saying just shortening the drill would not change its “provocative, aggressive nature”.
The North Korean military later launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, apparently following through with its previous threat to respond to the US-South Korean drill.
Now, apparently emboldened by his advancing nuclear programme and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts said Kim would likely aim to win greater concessions in potential diplomacy with the US.
Mr Kim said earlier this year that he could return to talks if the US dropped its “hostile policy” against his country and respected what he called North Korea’s status as a nuclear state.