North Korea launches ballistic missiles into sea off eastern coast, Seoul says

South Korea said it boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the launches with the US and Japan.

Published On 12 Sep 202612 Sep 2026

North Korea has fired ballistic missiles towards the sea off its eastern coast, according to South Korea’s military.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detected several missiles launched from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan at around 5:20 a.m. Saturday (20:20 GMT Friday), travelling approximately 250 kilometres. It added that Seoul is closely exchanging information on the launches with the United States and Japan.

South Korea’s presidential National Security Office said it held an emergency security meeting with the Defence Ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other relevant agencies following the launch.

The US Pacific Command said North Korea’s launch does not pose an immediate threat to US territory or its allies, adding that Washington remains committed to the defence of South Korea and other regional partners.

The missiles were launched a day after South Korea concluded five days of joint maritime drills with the US and Japan focused on North Korea.

Hours after the exercises began on Monday, North Korea’s defence minister, Kim Song Gi, criticised the drills and warned Pyongyang was capable of taking “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power”.

Late last month, North Korea slammed plans for the so-called Freedom Edge exercises in international waters off South Korea as a “threat” to Pyongyang and other countries in the region.

The North also fired a barrage of missiles into the sea on August 20, despite an overture from US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to meet this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The August launch from the nuclear-armed North came as South Korea and the US held a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from Trump to scale back the drills.

The order from Trump, who called the exercises “inappropriate and hostile” towards North Korea, alarmed US allies in the region.

Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.

Source link