By Deutsche Welle (Asia) | Created at 2025-03-10 07:00:10 | Updated at 2025-03-10 10:23:00
4 hours ago
South Korea’s military reported that North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the West Sea on Monday, just hours after South Korea and the US began their annual joint military exercises.
Pyongyang has long viewed the drills as a provocation.
Last week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned against further "provocations" in response to the US deploying an aircraft carrier in South Korea.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the missiles were launched from North Korea's Hwanghae province. This marks North Korea's fifth missile launch event this year.
The ongoing South Korea-US military exercise, known as "Freedom Shield," is set to last for 11 days. South Korea has strengthened its surveillance and is closely coordinating with the United States.
Pyongyang warns of 'physical conflict'
On Monday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned that the Freedom Shield drills could spark a ''physical conflict'' on the Korean Peninsula, calling them an ''aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal.''
The missile firings were detected from the North's southwestern Hwanghae provinceImage: Yonhap/picture allianceThe statement reaffirmed leader Kim Jong Un’s goal of ''radical growth'' in North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, citing perceived threats from the U.S. and its regional allies.
South Korea has strengthened its surveillance and is closely coordinating with the United States following North Korea’s latest missile launches.
Drills resume after accidental bombing of civilian area
The Freedom Shield command post exercise resumed after a brief pause following a military mishap in South Korea last week.
During a warm-up drill last Thursday, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian area in Pocheon, near the North Korean border, injuring about 30 people, including two seriously.
The jets fired eight MK-82 bombs in the incident, prompting an ongoing investigation by Seoul.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
