North Korea Launches Missiles After US Scales Back Drills

North Korea’s decision to fire roughly ten short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday exposed the limits of Washington’s latest attempt to restart talks through smaller military exercises.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the launches originated from the Pyongyang area around 5 p.m. local time and flew toward eastern waters. The action followed by one day Kim Yo-jong’s public rejection of the shortened Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which the United States and South Korea had already trimmed from eleven days to five at President Trump’s direction. South Korea’s national security council convened an emergency session afterward and called on Pyongyang to stop launches that violate UN Security Council resolutions. Japan’s prime minister’s office also detected the activity.

Kim Yo-jong, speaking through state media, stated that the reduced drills remained “provocative and aggressive” and that North Korea had “no interest” in them. She added she was unaware of any recent communication between the two governments, directly contradicting Trump’s claim that Kim Jong Un had responded to his outreach. Trump had cited both the cost of the drills and South Korea’s refusal to join operations against Iran as reasons for the cutback, while noting his personal relationship with the North Korean leader.

The episode leaves the central question unresolved: whether any adjustment short of a full suspension of the annual exercises can produce renewed diplomacy. North Korea continues to treat the drills themselves, regardless of scale, as the core obstacle. The United States and South Korea, still technically allied under the 1953 armistice, must now decide whether further concessions or renewed pressure offers the next step.