North Korea fires several ballistic missiles into sea
Earlier on Monday, the South Korean and US militaries began their annual joint military exercises.
North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea’s military said.
It comes hours after South Korean and US troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile firings, North Korea’s fifth missile launch event this year, were detected from the North’s Hwanghae province but gave no further details such as how far they flew.
Earlier on Monday, the South Korean and US militaries began their annual joint military exercises, which are scheduled to last 11 days.
The Freedom Shield command post exercise began after the South Korean and US militaries paused live-fire training while Seoul investigates how two of its fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian area during a warm-up drill last week.
The drills’ start drew the condemnation of nuclear-armed North Korea, which issued a government statement calling the exercises a “dangerous provocative act” that increases the risks of military conflict.
The bombing occurred while South Korean and US forces were engaging in a live-fire drill ahead of the larger Freedom Shield exercise.
In a background briefing to domestic reporters on Monday, the South Korean air force repeated its initial assessment last week that one of the KF-16 pilots had entered the wrong coordinates for a bombing site.
The unidentified pilot did not recognise the error during a pre-takeoff check and, rushing to meet the scheduled timing, failed to visually verify the target before proceeding with the bombing.
The second pilot had the correct coordinates but focused only on maintaining formation with the other aircraft and dropped the bombs following the first pilot’s instructions, failing to recognise they deviated from the right target, according to the content of the briefing provided to The Associated Press.
General Lee Youngsu, chief of staff of the South Korean air force, bowed and apologised on Monday over the injuries and property damage caused by the incident, which he said “should have never happened and must never happen again”.
Both the South Korean and US militaries have halted all live-fire exercises in South Korea following the mishap. South Korean military officials say live-fire training will resume after they complete the ongoing investigation into the bombing and formulate preventative steps.
In a statement issued through state media on Monday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry called the Freedom Shield exercise an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal” that risks triggering “physical conflict” on the Korean Peninsula.
The ministry reiterated Mr Kim’s stated goals for a “radical growth” of his nuclear force to counter what he claims as growing threats posed by the US and its Asian allies.
