North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles Off Eastern Coast Following Joint Military Drills

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with footage of a North Korean missile test at a train station in Seoul, on September 12, 2026.

North Korea has fired ballistic missiles towards the sea off its eastern coast, according to South Korea’s military. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that it detected several missiles launched from North Korea’s eastern coastal area of Wonsan at approximately 5:20 am on Saturday (20:20 GMT on Friday), traveling a distance of about 250 kilometres (155 miles). The JCS further noted that it is maintaining close intelligence-sharing regarding the launches with the United States and Japan.

In response to the event, South Korea’s presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting alongside the Defence Ministry, the JCS, and other key agencies.

Meanwhile, the US Pacific Command stated that the launch event poses no immediate threat to US territory or its allies, reaffirming Washington's steadfast commitment to the defence of South Korea and regional allies.

The missile launches occurred just one day after South Korea concluded five days of joint maritime drills alongside the US and Japan, exercises specifically focused on North Korea. Hours after those exercises commenced on Monday, North Korea’s defence minister, Kim Song Gi, sharply criticized the maneuvers, warning that North Korea was fully capable of enacting "strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power."

Earlier, in late the previous month, North Korea condemned plans for the Freedom Edge exercises held in international waters off South Korea, labeling them a "threat" to Pyongyang and surrounding nations. Pyongyang also launched a barrage of missiles into the sea on August 20, despite overtures from US President Donald Trump expressing plans to meet this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

That August launch from the nuclear-armed North took place while South Korea and the US were conducting a shortened version of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, which followed instructions from President Donald Trump to scale down the drills. President Trump had previously criticized the exercises as "inappropriate and hostile" towards North Korea, a decision that caused concern among US allies in the region. Historically, Pyongyang has consistently condemned joint US-South Korea military exercises as rehearsals for an invasion, frequently responding with missile tests around the time of the drills.