North Korea has launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, as the United States and South Korea conducted a shortened version of their annual military exercises.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea’s capital region around 5 p.m. local time on Aug. 20. The missiles each flew about 186 miles toward North Korea’s eastern waters, according to South Korean officials.
North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles came after U.S. President Donald Trump directed the Department of War to shorten joint military exercises with South Korea earlier this week.
North Korea has consistently condemned Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint U.S. and South Korean military exercise on the Korean Peninsula, labeling the exercises as provocative.
Following the missile launch on Thursday, South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency meeting, which included officials from the military and the defense ministry. The office also issued a statement describing the ballistic missile launch as a “grave act” and a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
South Korean Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that the ballistic missiles North Korea fired were 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, noting that South Korea had been tracking the launchers since they could potentially be deployed near the border between the two countries.
North Korea previously said the 600-mm rocket launcher system was capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads.
The Japanese prime minister’s office confirmed Thursday on social media that a suspected missile launch by North Korea had been detected, adding that it would take all possible precautionary measures, including “readiness for contingencies.”
U.S. Pacific Command said on Thursday afternoon that it was aware of the missile launches and was closely consulting with America’s allies and partners. The command assessed that the missile launches did not pose an immediate threat to any U.S. personnel or territory or to America’s allies.
“The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region,” U.S. Pacific Command said.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff announced on Aug. 19 that Ulchi Freedom Shield had been shortened following Trump’s order for the Pentagon to reduce the length of the joint exercise. The exercise, which started on Aug. 17 and was originally scheduled to conclude on Aug. 27, will now end on Aug. 21.
Trump ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce the U.S. military’s joint exercises with South Korea in a Truth Social post on Aug. 16.
“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” he wrote.
Trump said on Aug. 19 that he planned to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un later this year. However, Kim Yo-jong, Kim’s sister, claimed she was unaware of recent communication between the two leaders.
Kim Yo-jong also appeared to dismiss Trump’s gesture of reducing joint military exercises with South Korea. She said on Wednesday that the “provocative” and “aggressive nature” of the joint military drills would not change despite the reduction in the size and duration of the exercise.
“If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer,” she said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Aug. 17 that the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was not meant to “heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”
“Above all, the most important thing is to create a peace where there is no need to fight, but to maintain that peace, we must thoroughly prepare even for the worst-case scenarios,” he said.
This year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise, initially scheduled to last for 11 days, was expected to include a live-fire exercise, a wet gap crossing, and the distribution of military equipment.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Pentagon for comment but did not receive a response before publication time.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
