North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the West Sea on Monday, coinciding with the start of the annual joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, known as Freedom Shield.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that the missiles were launched at approximately 1:50 p.m. local time from Hwanghae province. The JCS assured that the South Korean military, in coordination with the United States, has reinforced surveillance and remains in a state of heightened readiness.
The Freedom Shield 2025 exercise, which began Monday, includes live, virtual, and field-based training exercises and will continue until March 20. The U.S. maintains tens of thousands of troops in South Korea, and the two allies emphasize that these drills are defensive in nature.
North Korea, however, has condemned the exercises, calling them a “provocative act” and warning that they could trigger a physical conflict. Pyongyang’s foreign ministry, through the Korean Central News Agency, stated that the situation on the Korean Peninsula remains highly volatile and that the drills increase the risk of war.
Tensions in the region have escalated following a series of North Korean ballistic missile launches in violation of UN sanctions. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
North Korea has also criticized the recent visit of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to South Korea, labeling it a political and military provocation.
