N. Korea fires projectile towards sea after US-Japan-South Korea drills
SEOUL, Sept 12 — North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, South Korea&rsq...
On September 12, North Korea launched an unidentified projectile towards the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea's defence ministry. The Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the launch heading towards the East Sea, though no additional details were provided. This occurred a day after South Korea concluded five days of joint maritime drills with the United States and Japan, aimed at countering North Korea.
North Korea had previously criticized these exercises, known as Freedom Edge, as a threat to the country and other regional nations. In a prior missile test on August 20, North Korea fired a barrage of missiles into the sea, despite an overture from US President Donald Trump, who had planned to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The launch came as South Korea and the US held a shortened version of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following a directive from Trump to reduce their scale. Trump's order was met with alarm from US allies, with Trump calling the drills "inappropriate and hostile" towards North Korea. Pyongyang has consistently condemned the joint US-South Korea exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often launching missiles during such events.
In an August 19 press conference, Trump stated his intention to meet with Kim Jong Un this year and expressed optimism about improving relations, noting that North Korea now possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons. This was an uncommon disclosure of a specific number regarding a classified issue. Following Trump's remarks, North Korea conducted more than 10 short-range ballistic missile launches towards the Sea of Japan, reported South Korea's military.
Hours after these launches, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, asserted that Trump's decision to scale back the drills with South Korea was the "punishment" imposed by Seoul. She described the move as an "evident disaster" stemming from Seoul's unrealistic and outdated security approach, arguing that South Korea maintains a "master-and-servant" relationship with the United States.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
