SEOUL/TOKYO — North Korea fired more than 10 ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, staging a significant show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States and US President Donald Trump renews overtures for dialogue with Pyongyang .
The missiles were launched from the Sunan area near the capital Pyongyang at around 1:20 p.m. local time (0430 GMT) toward the sea off the country’s east coast, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) . The missiles flew approximately 350 kilometers (220 miles) .
Japan’s coast guard confirmed detecting what appeared to be a ballistic missile, which landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated there were no reports of damage to aircraft or ships . Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed her government to gather information and ensure the safety of planes and vessels .
Response and Condemnation
The South Korean military condemned the launches as provocations violating UN Security Council resolutions. “Under a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various movements, and maintains capabilities and a posture that can overwhelmingly respond to any provocation,” the JCS stated .
South Korea’s presidential National Security Office held an emergency security assessment meeting shortly after the missile launches and called for an immediate halt to such actions . The office reported details of the launches and Seoul’s countermeasures to President Lee Jae Myung .
This marks North Korea’s third ballistic missile launch this year, following a January 27 test of multiple short-range ballistic missiles aimed at testing a renewed large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system .
Context: Joint Military Drills
Saturday’s launches came as South Korea and the United States conduct their annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise, which kicked off Monday for an 11-day run through March 19 . The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities, incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges.
Hundreds of US and South Korean troops conducted joint river-crossing drills in the border county of Yeoncheon on Saturday, involving some 200 pieces of equipment, including KM3 amphibious bridging vehicles and ribbon bridge systems . Approximately 700 troops from South Korea’s Capital Mechanized Infantry Division and 7th Engineer Brigade, and the US Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division participated .
US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson attended the drills, emphasizing the importance of combined training. “It’s the asymmetric advantage that we enjoy across the Indo-Pacific. The fact that we can train and build readiness across our formations and the fact that we can do this together,” Brunson said .
North Korea has long denounced the allies’ combined military drills as “dress rehearsals” for an invasion, though Seoul and Washington maintain the exercises are purely defensive . Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, condemned the ongoing drills and warned of “unimaginably terrible consequences” .
US Relocation Concerns
The ongoing Middle East conflict has raised concerns about potential security vulnerabilities in South Korea. Local media, citing security camera footage and other sources, have speculated that the US is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in South Korea to support operations against Iran .
When asked by the Associated Press whether US Forces Korea was moving interceptor missiles from its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Seongju to the Middle East, President Lee Jae Myung’s office said it could not confirm details about US military operations. However, the office asserted that any potential relocation would not affect the allies’ defense posture against nuclear-armed North Korea .
Diplomatic Context: Trump’s Overtures
The missile launches came just hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday to discuss ways to reopen dialogue with the North . Kim told reporters that Trump expressed eagerness for any opportunity to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un .
Speculation has grown that Trump might seek a meeting with Kim during his reported visit to China scheduled for late March to early April . Trump told South Korea’s prime minister: “Meeting (Kim Jong-un) would be good. It’s really good to meet. But it could happen when we go to China this time, or it might not, or it could even be later, couldn’t it?” .
South Korea’s Kim stated that he and Trump agreed that if a meeting with Kim Jong Un “happens soon, or around the time of the China visit, that would in itself be meaningful” .
North Korea’s Stance
Despite these overtures, Saturday’s launches appeared to dim hopes for immediate diplomatic engagement. At a ruling party congress last month, Kim Jong Un said North Korea would have “no reason not to get along with the US” if Washington abandoned what he described as hostile policies . However, Pyongyang has shown little interest in resuming dialogue with South Korea and continues to urge Washington to drop denuclearization demands as a precondition for talks .
The North’s Foreign Ministry has also issued separate statements condemning the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran and expressing support for Tehran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei . North Korea has recently strengthened ties with Russia, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for aid and military technology .
Talks aimed at winding down North Korea’s nuclear program derailed in 2019 following the collapse of Kim Jong Un’s second summit with Trump during his first term .
