SAIPAN — North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Thursday evening, and the U.S. military command responsible for the Pacific said the launches pose no immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches came from North Korea’s capital region around 5 p.m. Thursday, with the missiles flying about 185 miles each into the North’s eastern waters. South Korea bolstered its surveillance posture and coordinated closely with the United States and Japan, which had earlier detected a suspected launch, and the South’s presidential national security council held an emergency meeting and urged North Korea to halt ballistic missile launches banned by U.N. resolutions.
“We are aware of the recent missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. “Based on current assessments, these events do not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region.”
The barrage came one day after President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea, which began Monday and are now set to end Friday, and said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again later this year. Kim Yo Jong, the leader’s influential sister, dismissed the overture Wednesday, saying it was not worthy of comment. North Korea has long condemned the joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and frequently stages launches around the drills.
The CNMI and Guam are the closest U.S. territories to the Korean Peninsula.
