North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Saturday (September 12, 2026), its neighbours said, a day after the U.S., South Korea and Japan ended their trilateral military drill that North Korea views as a provocation.
It said the missiles flew about 250 kilometres each in a direction toward North Korea’s eastern waters. On Friday (September 11, 2026), the U.S., South Korea and Japan ended their five-day Freedom Edge exercise as scheduled. Hours after the trilateral exercise began Monday (September 7, 2026), North Korea’s defence minister Kim Song Gi criticised the exercise and threatened to take “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power. On Sunday (September 6, 2026), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for building a more reliable nuclear deterrent in a ceremony marking the commissioning of the country’s second naval destroyer.
The North Korean ballistic launch event, the first in about three weeks, came as the country was continuing its weapons display after rebuffing U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back a major bilateral military drill with South Korea in a goodwill gesture. South Korea’s presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to halt ballistic missile firings that violate UN Security Council resolutions. The U.S. It cited maritime maneuvers, air refuelling, cyber coordination and medical drills. Now apparently emboldened by his advancing nuclear programme and deepened ties with Russia and China, experts say Mr. Kim wants greater U.S. concessions in potential diplomacy with the U.S..
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches of several missiles from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it has boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the launches with the U.S. and Japan. Pacific Command said the North’s launch event did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or to its allies. It said the U.S. remains committed to the defence of the U.S. homeland and its allies in the region. Pacific Command said the militaries of the three countries “trained side by side across air, sea and cyber domains, sharpening the interoperability that keeps the region secure. North Korea has said its two destroyers can carry nuclear-capable missiles. Kim Jong Un said earlier this year that he could return to talks if the U.S. drops its “hostile policy” against his country and respects what he calls the North’s status as a nuclear state.
The second destroyer was damaged earlier during a botched launch last year, but it was relaunched after repairs.
