North Korea launched about ten unidentified ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missiles were detected around 1.20pm from the Sunan area, heading toward the East Sea. The launch follows Pyongyang’s warning of “terrible consequences” over ongoing annual military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
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Seoul’s military confirmed the launch in a brief statement but did not immediately provide further details about the projectile or its range.Japan also confirmed the launch shortly afterwards. The country’s coast guard, citing information from the defence ministry, said a possible ballistic missile had been fired from North Korea at around 1:30pm local time. Officials believe the missile landed in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Tokyo set up an emergency response team at the prime minister’s crisis management centre to assess the situation and check for potential damage.The launch comes just days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over the annual military drills conducted by South Korea and the United States. The exercises, known as Freedom Shield, began earlier this week and are scheduled to run until March 19. The largely computer-simulated drills test joint operational capabilities and are accompanied by field training activities involving thousands of troops.North Korea has long described such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and often responds with its own military demonstrations. In recent years, Pyongyang has carried out missile and artillery launches during allied drills, sometimes describing them as simulations of nuclear strikes on targets in South Korea.Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticised the exercises and warned that any challenge to the country’s security would bring “unimaginably terrible consequences”. She also argued that the drills were taking place at a time when global security was deteriorating and conflicts were spreading across different regions.The latest launches also come amid renewed diplomatic speculation involving the United States. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok recently said that US President Donald Trump believes a meeting with Kim Jong Un “would be good” following discussions in Washington.
