SEOUL — North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its eastern coast on Saturday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a day after Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo wrapped up five days of trilateral maritime drills.
The JCS detected the launches from the Wonsan area around 5:20 a.m. local time. The missiles flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles). South Korea’s presidential National Security Office held an emergency meeting with the Defence Ministry and other agencies.
U.S. Pacific Command said the launch “does not pose an immediate threat” to U.S. territory or allies and reaffirmed commitments to South Korea’s defense. North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song Gi had denounced the Freedom Edge exercises earlier in the week and warned of “strong and reflective countermeasures.”
Pyongyang last fired a short-range ballistic missile barrage into the East Sea on August 20 during separate U.S.–South Korea exercises. Reporting was compiled by Al Jazeera from AFP, Reuters, and the Associated Press.
Sources: Al Jazeera, AFP/Reuters/AP
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