SEOUL: South Korea’s military reported that North Korea fired around ten ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, just days after Pyongyang warned of serious repercussions over ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were detected at approximately 1:20 pm local time after being launched from the Sunan region near Pyongyang. They traveled toward the East Sea, which is also known as the Sea of Japan.
Japan’s Defence Ministry also acknowledged the launch, posting on its official X account that a projectile believed to be a ballistic missile had been fired from North Korea.
The launch comes amid rising tensions in the region. Earlier in the day, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok revealed that US President Donald Trump believes a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be beneficial. For years, Washington has attempted to curb North Korea’s nuclear weapons program through sanctions, diplomatic engagement and high-level summits, but these efforts have produced limited progress.
Recently, the Trump administration has been exploring ways to restart negotiations with Pyongyang. Reports suggest a possible meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un later this year, potentially coinciding with Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in April.
Kim Min-seok said that during talks in Washington, Trump expressed interest in meeting the North Korean leader, suggesting such a meeting could even take place during his visit to China scheduled for later this month.
During an Asian tour last October, Trump said he was “100 percent” willing to meet Kim Jong Un again, although North Korea did not respond at the time.
More recently, Kim Jong Un indicated that relations with the United States could improve if Washington recognizes North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.
Rising tensions
Last month, Kim Jong Un stated that North Korea has “no reason” to deal with South Korea anymore, calling it the country’s “most hostile enemy” and declaring that Seoul would no longer be treated as a fellow Korean state.
Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States began their annual “Freedom Shield” joint military drills earlier this week. The exercises involve roughly 18,000 South Korean troops and are scheduled to continue until March 19.
North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons, has repeatedly condemned these drills, claiming they are preparations for an invasion. Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un and one of his closest political allies, warned that the exercises could trigger “unimaginably serious consequences.”
She argued that the drills are occurring at a time when global security is deteriorating and conflicts are erupting in multiple regions around the world. Kim Yo Jong also criticized the United States, accusing it of aggressive behavior and condemning the recent US-Israeli strike on Iran, which Pyongyang described as an illegal act demonstrating Washington’s “rogue” nature.
