- North Korea launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the waters off its eastern coast on Thursday, according to South Korea 's military and Japanese defence officials.
- The missile launches prompted South Korea's presidential National Security Council to convene an emergency meeting, during which it urged Pyongyang to cease tests that violate UN Security Council resolutions.
- The provocations occurred just one day after Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un , dismissed US President Donald Trump 's decision to shorten joint military exercises with South Korea, labelling the drills inherently aggressive regardless of scale.
- Japanese maritime authorities issued alerts advising nearby vessels to remain vigilant for falling debris, confirming shortly afterwards that the projectiles appeared to have landed in the sea.
- Pyongyang routinely responds to combined US and South Korean military drills with weapons tests, having previously conducted short-range ballistic missile launches on 6 August and 12 August.
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