North Korea fires missiles in response to US‑South Korea drills

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters on Monday morning, as announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He described Kim Jong Un's military actions as "acts threatening peace".

The annual spring military exercises between South Korea and the United States, which aim to improve responses to the evolving nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea, concluded on March 14. This year, the drills involved twice as many soldiers as the previous year. North Korea perceives these American-South Korean exercises as hostile moves.

On Monday morning, in response, Kim Jong Un's military launched several short-range ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters, as informed by Prime Minister Kishida.

"Acts threatening peace"

The Japanese Prime Minister stressed that the missiles landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, causing no damage or injuries.

Kishida condemned North Korea's repeated ballistic missile tests, labelling them as acts "threatening the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community".

The South Korean military also reported detecting several suspected short-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea on Monday morning.