North Korea launched several ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, coinciding with the commencement of the first large-scale joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States during President Donald Trump’s second term.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the missile launches originated from North Korea’s Hwanghae Province, in the southwest. The missiles were characterized as short-range. In response, the South Korean military stated it has increased its surveillance and is working closely with the U.S.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command released a statement saying, “We are aware of the DPRK’s multiple ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners. The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts. While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation. The U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan remain ironclad.”

The launches occurred as U.S. and South Korean forces began their annual Freedom Shield exercise on Monday.

“Freedom Shield is an 11-day exercise conducted by the Republic of Korea and the United States consisting of training to reflect the Korea Theater of Operations – a combined, joint, multi-domain, and interagency operating environment,” according to the U.S. Army.

“Field training events throughout FS25 include urban combat operations, field hospital operations, mass casualty treatment and evacuation, field artillery exercises, air assault training, wet gap crossing, air defense artillery asset deployment and validation, and a joint assault exercise with the U.S. Marine Corps,” the Army added.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has labeled the exercises an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal.”

“Despite of the DPRK’s repeated warning, the US and the Republic of Korea are dead set on staging the large-scale joint military exercises. This is a dangerous provocative act of driving the acute situation on the Korean peninsula, where a single accidental gun report may spark off a physical conflict between the two sides, beyond the extreme limit,” a statement in North Korean state media said.

This year’s exercise follows an incident on Thursday in which South Korean KF-16 fighter jets accidentally dropped bombs on a civilian area during a live-fire training exercise with the U.S., causing injuries and damage to buildings, including three houses and a Catholic church.

South Korean media reported the accident occurred in Pocheon, a city close to the heavily fortified border with North Korea. Approximately 30 people were injured, with two sustaining serious wounds.

The South Korean air force’s initial assessment indicated that one of the KF-16 pilots entered incorrect coordinates and failed to visually confirm the target before bombing. The second pilot had the correct coordinates but focused on maintaining flight formation and dropped the bombs following the first pilot’s instructions, without realizing the target was incorrect, according to a briefing provided to The Associated Press.

Gen. Lee Youngsu, chief of staff of the South Korean air force, publicly apologized on Monday for the injuries and property damage resulting from the bombing, stating that it “should have never happened and must never happen again.”

’ Bradford Betz and

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