North Korea fires missiles after US-South Korea-Japan Freedom Edge drill
North Korea on Saturday launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, a day after the United States, South Korea and Japan ended a trilateral military drill that Pyongyang sees as a provocation. South Korea said several missiles were fired from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan and travelled about 250 kilometres towards the North’s eastern waters.
The launch, North Korea’s first in about three weeks, came as the country continued to display its weapons after rejecting US President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back a major bilateral military drill with South Korea as a goodwill gesture. The US Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to US territory or its allies.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had strengthened its surveillance posture and was closely sharing information on the launches with the US and Japan. South Korea’s presidential National Security Council urged North Korea to stop ballistic missile launches that violate UN Security Council resolutions. The US Pacific Command said the US remained committed to defending its homeland and its allies in the region.
On Friday, the US, South Korea and Japan ended their five-day Freedom Edge exercise as scheduled. The US Pacific Command said the three militaries “trained side by side across air, sea and cyber domains, sharpening the interoperability that keeps the region secure.” It said the exercise included maritime manoeuvres, air refuelling, cyber coordination and medical drills. South Korea’s military had earlier said the exercise was defensive in nature and meant to improve a joint response to North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Hours after the exercise began on Monday, North Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Song Gi criticised it and threatened to take “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power.” On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for building a more reliable nuclear deterrent at a ceremony marking the commissioning of the country’s second naval destroyer. North Korea has said its two destroyers can carry nuclear-capable missiles. The second destroyer had been damaged during a failed launch last year, but was launched again after repairs.
Kim has been focused on expanding his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Last month, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise with South Korea, citing what he called a good relationship with Kim, who sees the drill as a rehearsal for invasion. But Kim’s sister and senior official Kim Yo Jong rejected the move, saying that simply shortening the drill would not change its “provocative, aggressive nature”. North Korea’s military later fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, apparently acting on its earlier threat to respond to the US-South Korean drill.
Earlier this year, Kim Jong Un said he could return to talks if the US dropped its “hostile policy” towards North Korea and respected what he called the country’s status as a nuclear state. Saturday’s missile launches followed the end of the latest trilateral exercise and extended a recent pattern of North Korean weapons activity and warnings against joint military drills involving the US and its allies.
