North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Into Sea as South Korea, US Pause Joint Military Drills: Report

North Korea has fired unidentified ballistic missiles, the South Korean military said on Monday, according to local media reports. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military spotted the ballistic missiles at around 1:50 pm fired from inland in North Korea’s Hwanghae region, and the projectiles flew toward the Yellow Sea, Yonhap reported.

The development came as South Korea and the US began their annual joint drills, the ‘Freedom Shield’ exercise, which was paused after the accidental bombing of a civilian village by fighter jets last week.

Two KF-16 fighter jets “abnormally” dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside a training range in Pocheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live-fire drills on Thursday, injuring 29, including 15 civilians, reports suggest.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s top Air Force commander has issued a public apology over the incident. The “accident that should never have happened, and one that should not recur,” S Korea’s state news agency Yonhap quoted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Young-su as saying in a press briefing.

North Korea has criticised the US-South Korea joint exercises, with Pyongyang releasing back-to-back statements denouncing the latest joint drills, threatening that Seoul and Washington will pay a “horrible” price for their “dangerous provocative act,” the Yonhap report said.

In February, North Korea had launched strategic cruise missiles in waters off its west coast to demonstrate the potential of its nuclear deterrence, local media reported, adding that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has called for thorough war preparedness with the country’s nuclear forces and readiness for their use.

ALSO READ: Trump Says Suspension of US Intelligence Sharing With Ukraine ‘Just About Lifted’