Pyongyang: North Korea launched “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles” toward the Yellow Sea .
According to the South Korean military, hours after the U.S. and ROK kicked off large-scale springtime joint exercises.
DPRK forces launched the missiles from an inland area of Hwanghae Province at around 1:50 p.m., Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated.
“Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance, and is maintaining a thorough readiness posture while closely coordinating with the U.S.,” it added.
A JCS official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said later in the day that North Korea had likely fired close-range ballistic missiles (CRBM).
The ROK military reportedly told local media that the missiles were fired from near Hwangju County in North Hwanghae Province, with flight ranges around 37 to 62 miles (60 to 100 kilometers).
Monday’s launch comes after the North Korean party daily Rodong Sinmun criticized the U.S.-ROK Freedom Shield exercise as an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal” earlier in the day.
The DPRK leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong also warned last week that Pyongyang is “seriously considering measures to escalate our strategic-level actions” in response to U.S. military activities in the region.
In the statement released last Tuesday, she specifically cited the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and this week’s Freedom Shield exercises as something that could trigger a demonstration of North Korea’s “strategic deterrence capabilities” — a codeword for nuclear-capable weapons.
The U.S. and South Korea maintain that their routine military exercises like Freedom Shield are defensive in nature. They also decided not to conduct live-fire training during this month’s drills after a bombing mishap last week.
