North Korea fires ~10 ballistic missiles, Seoul says
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- North Korea fired off around 10 ballistic missiles on Saturday, according to Seoul's military
- Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed launches of "multiple ballistic missiles" from North Korea's western coast, saying the weapons traveled about 340 km before landing outside Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan
- The launches came days after South Korea and the U.S. kicked off 11 days of annual joint military drills
- Saturday's barrage is notable for the sheer number of missiles — North Korea typically fires only 1 to 3 during shows of force
- The last comparable launch of this scale was a barrage of at least 10 missiles fired in May 2024
Why it matters: The volume of launches — roughly 10 missiles versus the typical 1-3 — is the key detail. This rare scale-up in force, timed directly against the 11-day U.S.-South Korea joint drills, shows Pyongyang is deliberately breaking its own escalation template rather than simply protesting the exercises with a routine response.
