North Korea Fires Over 10 Missiles During Drills
The launch triggered an emergency security meeting in Seoul as South Korea and the United States moved toward the end of scaled-back joint exercises.
reede, 21. august 2026 07:04
North Korea launched more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward waters east of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday, prompting Seoul to condemn the launch and order full military readiness.
South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency security meeting attended by defence ministry and military officials after the launch, Reuters reported from Seoul. “The ballistic missile launch is a grave act that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions,” the office said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew about 300 kilometres, or 186 miles, toward the sea. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers the missiles are believed to be 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, which Seoul has tracked because they could potentially be deployed near the border with South Korea.
North Korea has previously described the 600 mm system, known externally as the KN-25, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Ahn said earlier in the day that North Korea possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.
The launch followed Kim Yo Jong’s condemnation on Wednesday of U.S.-South Korea military drills, even after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered U.S. participation to be substantially reduced. The exercises were cut short to end on Friday, and Trump said he wanted to revive diplomacy with Kim Jong Un.
Kim Yo Jong said she was unaware of any recent communications between the two leaders and said the United States’ “hostile policy” toward North Korea had not changed. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the launch showed her warning was “not mere rhetoric” and sent a message that “matters concerning North Korea’s security are for North Korea to decide.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Seoul this week, urged South Korea not to take sides between Beijing and Washington and said the U.S. should abandon its “hostile” policy toward North Korea to ease tensions.
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