![\"Soldiers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/190826UFS-ENDINGphoto03.jpg\")
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\n U.S. soldiers inspect communications equipment in support of Ulchi Freedom Shield at CP Tango, South Korea, Aug. 11, 2026. (Shin Haegyeom\/U.S Army)
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North Korea launched approximately\u00a010 short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Thursday afternoon, according to local media outlets citing the South Korean military.<\/p>\n
The Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the missiles being fired around 5 p.m. from the Pyongyang area, marking North Korea\u2019s 12th launch episode this year, according to the JTBC cable network.\u00a0<\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s military has \u201cstrengthened its surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches,\u201d the Joint Chiefs said, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are \u201cmaintaining a full state of readiness while closely sharing intelligence regarding North Korean ballistic missiles,\u201d the Joint Chiefs added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Ministry of Defense said the missiles appeared to have fallen outside the country\u2019s exclusive economic zone, according to the Yonhap News Agency.<\/p>\n
\u200bA spokesman for South Korea\u2019s Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a text message for comment Thursday. U.S. Forces Korea also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n
\u200bThe launches came a day before Washington and Seoul\u2019s Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise is set to wrap on Friday. President Donald Trump ordered the allies to reduce joint drills, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.<\/p>\n
\u200bThe training began Monday and was slated to continue through Aug. 27, but will now conclude after five days, the Joint Chiefs announced Wednesday. It is one of two major exercises carried out annually by U.S. and South Korean troops.<\/p>\n
\u200bThat decision came after Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social that he has ordered the Pentagon to \u201csubstantially reduce\u201d the allies\u2019 military exercises.<\/p>\n
In a White House briefing on Wednesday, Trump told reporters that the \u201cmassive war exercise\u201d is \u201cvery insulting\u201d to Kim, who has been \u201cvery well-behaved\u201d during his term, according to online video of the briefing.<\/p>\n
\u200bKim\u2019s sister Kim Yo Jong, head of general affairs for the ruling Workers\u2019 Party, said Wednesday that Trump\u2019s decision to cut down the exercise was \u201cunworthy of comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also pointed to Ulchi Freedom Shield as evidence that the United States\u2019 \u201chostile policy\u201d toward North Korea remains unchanged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. soldiers inspect communications equipment in support of Ulchi Freedom Shield at CP Tango, South Korea, Aug. 11,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1204,4,450,451,3,6505,86601,452,453,347634,347633],"class_list":["post-819809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-asia-pacific","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-korea","tag-pacific","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-us-forces-korea","tag-us-south-korea-military-exercises"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}