North Korea launched about a dozen short-range ballistic missiles
North Korea launched about a dozen short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea. The launches were detected around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, according to The Korea Herald, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korean military officials stated that they are continuing to analyze the launches in coordination with the United States. They have stepped up surveillance and readiness in anticipation of possible new launches and are sharing information with the United States and Japan.
The launches occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to resume dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Earlier this week, Trump posted on social media that he had instructed the Pentagon to scale back joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises. In his view, these exercises could send an inappropriate and hostile signal to Pyongyang.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
On August 19, Seoul and Washington announced that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises would be cut in half and concluded on Friday. Pyongyang has previously condemned such maneuvers, calling them a rehearsal for an invasion, and has typically responded to them with weapons tests.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, stated the day before that the DPRK is not interested in the allies’ decision to scale back the exercises and considers the matter unworthy of comment. Following the launch, the South Korean president’s National Security Office held a meeting with representatives from the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They emphasized the need to maintain proper readiness during the exercises and called on the DPRK to cease actions that violate UN Security Council resolutions.
The DPRK previously launched a short-range ballistic missile on August 12 and another on August 6.
