North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, just hours after US President Donald Trump revealed plans to meet leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea around 5:00 pm, flying approximately 300 kilometres.
Seoul condemned the launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and convened an emergency security meeting to heighten readiness.
The missile tests coincided with scaled-down US-South Korea military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, which were shortened at Washington’s suggestion.
Pyongyang has long denounced such exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often responding with weapons tests.
Trump, seeking to revive ties with Kim, told reporters Wednesday that it was important to “get along” with the North Korean leader, claiming Pyongyang possessed 57 nuclear weapons. South Korean estimates put the number between 80 and 120.
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, said her brother still had “good memories and feelings” about Trump, describing their relationship as “excellent,” though she noted no current communication between the two.
The Pentagon insisted the reduced drills would not affect US training objectives, while South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back reaffirmed opposition to recognising the North as a nuclear state.
President Lee Jae Myung pledged to support Trump’s peacemaking efforts but stressed the need for stronger homegrown defences.
The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
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