North Korea fires about 10 missiles toward sea in show of force, Seoul says

North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang’s international airport, and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles).

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the weapons landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to planes or ships.

The South’s Joint Chiefs said the military has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the US and Japan.

The launches came as the US and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops while the Trump administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.

The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media - citing security camera footage and other images - have speculated that the U.S. is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.

When asked by the media this week whether US Forces Korea was moving interceptor missiles from its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in Seongju to the Middle East, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s office said it could not confirm details about US military operations.

The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Seoul’s No. 2 official after Lee, met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington and expressed hope for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang. Lee seeks improved inter-Korean relations, and some of his top officials have said Trump’s expected visit to China, starting March 31, may create an opening with Pyongyang.

The office said the potential relocation of US military assets would not affect the allies’ defense posture against nuclear-armed North Korea, while also citing South Korea’s conventional military strength.

It earlier gave a similar response to reports about the possible relocation of Patriot missile defense systems from South Korea.The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Seoul’s No. 2 official after Lee, met US President Donald Trump in Washington and expressed hope for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang. Lee seeks improved inter-Korean relations, and some of his top officials have said Trump’s expected visit to China, starting March 31, may create an opening with Pyongyang.

But Saturday’s launches appeared to dim such hopes, signaling defiance by Pyongyang, which in recent months has hardened its stance toward Seoul and urged Washington to drop denuclearisation demands as a precondition for talks.

North Korea has long described the allies’ drills as invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up its own military demonstrations or weapons testing.

Associated Press