Seoul, March 14 – North Korea fired approximately 10 ballistic missiles towards the East Sea on Saturday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), apparently as a show of force while South Korea and the United States were conducting their key springtime military exercise.
The JCS said they detected the missiles launched from the Sunan area in the North at around 1:20 p.m. This was the North's third ballistic missile launch this year.
The missiles flew approximately 350 kilometers, the JCS said, adding that further analysis is underway, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
"Under a robust South Korea-US combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various movements and maintains capabilities and a posture that can overwhelmingly respond to any provocation," it added.
The latest launch came as South Korea and the United States began their annual Freedom Shield exercise on Monday, which will last for 11 days.
The North has long denounced the allies' combined military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion, although Seoul and Washington have said the exercises are purely defensive.
Earlier this week, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, condemned the ongoing military drills and warned of "unimaginably terrible consequences."
The North also recently test-fired strategic cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon destroyer, with the North Korean leader underscoring the need to maintain and expand a "powerful and reliable nuclear deterrent," according to Pyongyang's state media.
The North's latest missile launch also came after Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that US President Donald Trump remained positive about the resumption of dialogue with the North Korean leader while leaving the timing open.
The prime minister's remarks came amid speculation that Trump could seek a meeting with Kim during his upcoming trip to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump reportedly plans to travel to China from late March to early April.
North Korea last fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea on January 27, which it said was aimed at testing a renewed large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system.