North Korea fired up to 10 ballistic missiles towards the sea on Thursday, just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke of re-engagement with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. The launch comes as the two countries' joint military exercises were scaled back at Trump's request, and South Korea's presidential office condemned the act as a "grave violation" of UN Security Council resolutions. The missiles flew around 300 kilometers towards the sea and were met with an emergency security meeting in South Korea, where officials reviewed their response posture and assessed the security implications of the launches. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, suggested that the launch was aimed at underscoring Kim Yo Jong's warning of opposition to US-South Korea military drills.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would be scaling back US military exercises with South Korea, citing his "very good" relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and claiming that the exercises were expensive. The annual drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield, were originally scheduled to run from August 13-27, but have been reduced in scope and scale at the direction of Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The decision has caused alarm among South Koreans, who rely heavily on the US for their security, as well as other US allies in the region. North Korea has been threatening a "new level" of nuclear deterrence in response to the planned drills, which Pyongyang state media called "a rehearsal for an invasion war."
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who had previously floated the idea of reducing joint military exercises with the US as a tool for drawing North Korea back to the table, has renewed his calls for wartime operational control of the military and progress on South Korea's nuclear submarine programme.
The decision to cut short the drills marks a significant shift in Trump's approach to North Korea, which he had previously criticized for its missile tests and threats. Trump added that US involvement in the exercises would send a "signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he said has been "unthreatening and respectful" to his presidency.
The move has also sparked concerns among analysts and US senators about Trump's willingness to prioritize North Korean denuclearization over South Korea's security. Some have criticized Trump's approach as naive, citing the recent spate of North Korean missile tests and threats.
Written for “US-South Korea Military Tensions” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 21 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
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Leaning score withheld for article 1890: no verified evidence · logged 2026-08-28
North Korea fires up to 10 ballistic missiles toward sea, hours after Trump speaks of re-engagement
Trump had also ordered U.S.-South Korea military exercises which anger Pyongang scaled back
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which → fire → Pyongang
South Korea's presidential office condemned North Korea's launch of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday and ordered its military to maintain full readiness during ongoing joint exercises with the United States.
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office → condemn → States
The presidential office convened an emergency security meeting attended by officials from the Defence Ministry and military authorities after North Korea fired the missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the sea to the east of the Korean Peninsula, it said in a statement.
"The ballistic missile launch is a grave act that violates UN Security Council resolutions," it said, calling on North Korea to immediately halt such actions.
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it → convene → actions
Officials reviewed South Korea's response posture, assessed the security implications of the launches and discussed necessary measures, the office said.
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office → review → measures
The missiles flew around 300 kilometres toward the sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
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Chiefs → fly → Staff
Trump puts a number on North's nukes
The missile barrage comes the day after the South Korean and U.S. militaries said they were scaling back their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, set to conclude by the end of Friday.
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they → put → Friday
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the exercise just before it began Monday.
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it → order → exercise
Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un as well as South Korea's refusal to support the U.S. in its war in Iran.
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he → cite → Iran
Asked by reporters Wednesday if he would be meeting with Kim this year, Trump replied, "Yeah, I will be."
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I → ask → Kim
Trump added that North Korea possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, the first time he's cited that figure.
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he → add → figure
South Korean officials have said they believe the number is between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.
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number → say → ?
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister who has emerged as a spokesperson for the regime in recent years, dismissed Trump's overture later Wednesday.
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who → emerge → overture
"The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won't change even though their duration and size were reduced," she said.
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she → change → drills
"If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as the one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer."
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they → calculate → answer
She also cited a series of other military drills carried out by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year and South Korea's push to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.
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She → cite → submarines
Kim Yo Jong said personal relations between her brother and Trump are "still excellent," but denied Trump's claim that the North Korean leader had responded to his request for a conversation.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the launch appeared aimed at underscoring that Kim Yo Jong's warning a day earlier was "not mere rhetoric.
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warning → say → Seoul
He said the launch likely served multiple purposes, including signalling opposition to the South Korea-U.S. military exercises, expressing displeasure over recent discussion of North Korea's nuclear arsenal, and warning outside powers against speculation about Pyongyang's security affairs.
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launch → say → affairs
"It is a message that matters concerning North Korea's security are for North Korea to decide," Yang said, adding the launch could also have been used to test improved missile systems.
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launch → concern → systems
During Trump's first year as president in 2017, North Korean missile tests infuriated him, and he threatened the regime with "fire and fury."
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he → infuriate → fire
He would later meet Kim three times — to the chagrin of advisers like John Bolton — setting a precedent for a U.S. president but without achieving any substantial diplomatic breakthrough.
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He → meet → breakthrough
Trump, dating back to his first term, has repeatedly questioned the cost of maintaining roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea while insisting that Seoul remains an important ally.
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Seoul → date → Korea
The allies have a cost-sharing agreement covering 2026 to 2030, under which Seoul will contribute about 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion US) this year toward the upkeep of American troops.
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Seoul → have → troops
Nevertheless, Trump has continued to argue that South Korea pays too little.
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Korea → continue → little
Japan's government and coast guard also said North Korea appeared to have fired a ballistic missile towards the sea on Thursday.
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Korea → say → Thursday
Japan's coast guard said the projectile had already fallen.
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projectile → say → ?
The missile appeared to have landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone in the sea, NHK reported.
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NHK → appear → sea
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Seoul this week, urged South Korea not to take sides between Beijing and Washington, saying the U.S. should abandon its "hostile" policy toward North Korea.
"China would be glad to see the peninsula move toward peaceful coexistence between South Korea and North Korea," Wang told his South Korean counterpart.
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Wang → visit → counterpart
China and North Korea have appeared to reinforce their ties recently, with Kim and Xi Jinping meeting twice in the past year.
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Kim → appear → year
