South Korea’s military said North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea from the Wonsan coastal area in the east of the country on Saturday morning.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired at around 5:20 a.m. local time and flew about 250 kilometers. Seoul has also increased its military alert and surveillance level and is exchanging information with the United States and Japan about the launches.
The National Security Office of the South Korean presidency also held an emergency security meeting with the Ministry of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other related institutions after the incident.
The US Pacific Command said the firings did not pose an immediate threat to US territory or its allies, but Washington stressed its commitment to defending South Korea and other allies in the region.
The move came a day after the end of five-day joint South Korean-US-Japanese naval exercises, which focused on countering threats from North Korea.
Pyongyang had previously called the drill a threat to itself and regional countries and announced the possibility of taking “strong countermeasures.”
North Korea had previously fired several missiles into the sea on August 20, an action that coincided with joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.
