North Korea Fires Multiple Short-Range Ballistic Missiles Right After S. Korea-U.S.-Japan 'Freedom Edge' Drills

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles today (Sept. 12), just a day after the conclusion of the regular trilateral military exercise "Freedom Edge" involving South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced, "We detected several short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area in North Korea toward the East Sea at around 5:20 a.m. today." They added, "The detected North Korean missiles flew approximately 250 kilometers, and South Korea and the U.S. are conducting a detailed analysis of their precise specifications."

Weight is being given to the possibility that the missiles launched by North Korea are Hwasong-11 series missiles and 600mm super-large multiple rocket launchers, which are representative short-range ballistic missiles.

It is estimated that they tested their performance by sequentially firing different types of missiles.

The missiles on this day were reportedly fired toward Al Island in the East Sea, which North Korea frequently uses as a target site for missile test firings.

South Korea-U.S. intelligence authorities have been tracking and sharing relevant trends since the early stages of North Korea's missile launch, and the military explained that they also shared information regarding "North Korean ballistic missiles" with Japan.

The JCS emphasized, "Under our solid South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring various North Korean trends and maintaining the capability and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation."

North Korea's ballistic missile launch on this day is interpreted as a backlash against the Freedom Edge military exercise conducted by the three countries of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan for five days from the 7th to the 11th in international waters east and south of Jeju Island.

Involving major naval and air assets of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, Freedom Edge was first conducted in June 2024, making this the fourth iteration. It is a multi-domain exercise aimed at strengthening the interoperability of the three nations to address North Korean nuclear and missile threats as well as regional security challenges.

North Korea has protested against the Freedom Edge exercise, calling it a "U.S.-led war rehearsal." On the 7th, the very day the latest Freedom Edge exercise began, it had also signaled a provocation through a statement by its defense minister, warning, "We will also take strong and responsive countermeasures from a position of strength."

This marks North Korea's first ballistic missile launch in 23 days, following the previous one on August 20.

On August 20 at around 5:00 p.m., North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles, presumed to be 600mm super-large multiple rocket launchers (KN-25), from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea.

At that time, the South Korean and U.S. militaries were conducting their regular theater-level joint exercise, "Ulchi Freedom Shield" (UFS), on the Korean Peninsula.

It appears that North Korea is reacting with ballistic missile launches against allied joint military exercises targeting the regime, such as the UFS South Korea-U.S. joint exercise and the Freedom Edge South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercise.

At the same time, this may also serve to verify the performance of missiles being developed under North Korea's "five-year plan for national defense development."

It points to the possibility of test-firings driven by military-technical demands.

On June 25, North Korea also conducted weapon tests, including tactical ballistic missiles and new multiple rocket launchers, as part of the "modernization project for artillery and missile forces" under the five-year defense development plan, with State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un in attendance.

North Korea's ballistic missile launch is the 13th of its kind this year alone.

Among them, North Korea did not report on three previous ballistic missile launches since August 6, drawing attention to whether it will remain silent about this latest launch as well.

Meanwhile, through a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the day it fired the ballistic missiles, North Korea disclosed that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a congratulatory message to State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un celebrating the 78th anniversary of the regime's founding (September 9 Day).

However, North Korea's act of firing ballistic missiles constitutes a violation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.

Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006, demanded that North Korea refrain from conducting ballistic missile launches, and Resolution 2397, adopted in December 2017, also "reaffirms the decision that North Korea shall not make further launches using ballistic missile technology, nuclear tests, or any other provocation."

(Photo: Provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.