North Korea fires ballistic missiles as US-South Korea drills near end

South Korea has condemned North Korea’s launch ⁠of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles, following military drills between Seoul and Washington that US President Donald Trump is seeking to curb.

South Korea’s presidential office on Thursday convened an emergency security meeting with defence ministry and military officials after North Korea fired missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula, the office said in a statement.

“The ballistic missile launch is a grave act ‌that violates UN Security Council resolutions,” Seoul said, calling on North Korea to immediately halt further missile launches.

The latest launches from nuclear-armed North Korea come as South Korea and the US held a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from Trump to scale them back.

Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.

The North Korean missiles flew around 300km (186 miles) toward the sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that the short-range ballistic missiles are believed to be 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, adding that Seoul has tracked them because they could be potentially deployed near its border with the South.

Pyongyang has previously described the 600 mm system, known externally as the KN-25, as being able to deliver tactical nuclear warheads. Ahn said earlier in the day that ⁠North Korea possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.