North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles toward sea, South Korea says - reuters.com

North Korea launched several short‑range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on Saturday morning. The missiles were detected by South Korea’s military at approximately 5:20 a.m. local time and were reported to have traveled about 250 kilometres before descending into the water.

The launches originated from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast. South Korean officials described the missiles as short‑range ballistic weapons and said they were aimed toward the sea, consistent with the flight path observed by radar and other tracking systems.

The missile tests came one day after the United States, South Korea and Japan completed a five‑day series of joint maritime exercises in international waters off the Korean Peninsula. The drills, known as the Freedom Edge exercises, focused on North Korean threats and were concluded on Friday.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that both South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies monitored the launch from its initial stage and shared relevant information with Japan. The coordinated tracking was intended to assess the trajectory and performance of the missiles.

Pyongyang had previously denounced the Freedom Edge exercises as a “threat” to its security and to other countries in the region. The missile launches therefore occurred against a backdrop of heightened tension following the joint drills.