North Korea Fires Missiles as South Korea, US Begin Joint Military Drills

Photo: AFP

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles after South Korea and the United States began their joint military drills. On Monday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that North Korea launched several missiles from its west coast into the sea. This was the fifth missile launch by North Korea this year.

The missile launch came right as South Korea and the US started their annual Freedom Shield exercises. These drills are scheduled to run until March 20.
In response, North Korea condemned the military exercises, calling them a “dangerous provocative act” that could increase the risk of a military conflict.

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The Freedom Shield drills are the first large-scale military exercises held since US President Donald Trump began his second term. During his first term, President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times, showing interest in restarting talks between the US and North Korea.

Despite Trump's willingness to restart diplomacy, North Korea has not responded to his offers. Instead, Pyongyang has continued to use harsh language against the US and South Korea, calling their joint military drills a practice for an invasion of North Korea.

In a statement, North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated the country’s goal to strengthen its nuclear force to counter the growing threats from the US and its allies in Asia.

The Freedom Shield exercises began shortly after South Korean and US forces paused their live-fire training. This pause followed an incident in which two South Korean fighter jets mistakenly dropped bombs on a civilian area in Pocheon, a town near the North Korean border, during a warm-up drill. The bombing injured about 30 people, with two of them seriously hurt.

General Lee Youngsu, the chief of staff of the South Korean Air Force, apologized for the mistake. He said that the injuries and property damage should never have happened and that such an incident must not happen again.