North Korea fires ballistic missiles as US-South Korea hold military drills

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles from its west coast as the United States and South Korean forces stage their annual military exercises, according to Japanese and South Korean defence forces.

Japan’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that the missiles were fired at about 1:34pm local time (04:34 GMT) in a northeastern direction, according to a statement posted on X. Japan estimates that the missiles reached a maximum altitude of 80 kilometres (50 miles) and flew approximately 340 kilometres before landing near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, outside Tokyo’s exclusive economic zone.

Early reports indicate that no damage has been reported by nearby aircraft or ships, the post said.

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