North Korea launches ten short-range missiles a day after US scales back joint drills

North Korea launched roughly ten short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, according to South Korea’s military. The missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area at about 5 p.m. local time (08:00 GMT) and were detected by monitoring stations in South Korea and Japan. South Korean authorities said they had increased surveillance and were sharing information with the United States and Japan.

Following the launches, South Korea’s presidential national security council convened an emergency meeting and issued a statement urging Pyongyang to stop missile launches, which are prohibited under United Nations Security Council resolutions. Japan’s prime minister’s office also reported detecting a suspected missile launch.

The missile test came a day after the United States announced a reduction in the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea, a decision ordered by President Donald Trump. Trump said the move reflected a positive relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and cited South Korea’s stance on the war in Ukraine as a factor.

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the reduced size of the drills would not change their “provocative, aggressive nature” and warned that the United States would not achieve its intended outcome. She noted previous U.S.–South Korean drills and South Korea’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, but described the personal relationship between her brother and President Trump as “still excellent.”