North Korea fires about 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military says. The launches are detected by South Korea and Japan and occur from the North’s capital region, with the missiles fired around 5pm local time toward waters east of North Korea.
The launches follow the day after the United States scales back joint military exercises with South Korea. One outlet links the timing to an effort to resume diplomacy around North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, describing the missile test as coming after Pyongyang reacts to the change in drill posture. Another report similarly frames the launches in the context of reduced U.S.-South Korea drills, highlighting the shift in timing and the apparent linkage to heightened regional activity.
Both accounts attribute the characterization of the launches and their timing to South Korea’s briefings, and both describe the weapons as short-range ballistic missiles aimed toward nearby maritime areas rather than toward specific targets on land.
