North Korea fires 10 ballistic missiles during US-South Korea military drills

North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles towards the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, but did not immediately say how far they flew. Japan’s Defence Ministry said the weapons landed in waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.

The South’s Joint Chiefs said the military had stepped up surveillance and was maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the US and Japan.

The launches come as the US and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops while Donald Trump’s administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.

The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media – citing security camera footage and other images – have speculated that the US is relocating some missile defence assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.

When asked this week whether US Forces Korea was moving interceptor missiles from its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, system in Seongju to the Middle East, President Lee Jae Myung’s office said it could not confirm details about US military operations.