South Korea convened an emergency security meeting in response to the launch, as President Trump seeks to shake up North Korea.
Published August 20, 2026
South Korea has accused North Korea of launching more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles following military exercises between Seoul and Washington that US President Donald Trump has sought to stop.
South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement Thursday that it convened an emergency security meeting with defense ministry and military officials after North Korea fired a missile from the Pyongyang area into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.
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The South Korean government said, “A ballistic missile launch is a serious act that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions,” and called on North Korea to immediately halt further missile launches.
The launch by nuclear-armed North Korea came as South Korea and the United States were shortening their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise in response to President Trump’s order to scale back its scale.
North Korea has long denounced joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises as rehearsals for invasion, and often launches missiles around them.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North Korean missile flew about 300 kilometers (186 miles) toward the sea.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-bak told lawmakers that the short-range ballistic missile was believed to be a 600mm multiple rocket launcher, adding that the South Korean government was tracking it because it could be deployed near the South Korean border.
North Korea has previously described its 600mm system, known externally as KN-25, as capable of launching tactical nuclear warheads. Ahn said on the same day that North Korea has between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.
President Trump scales back training to show goodwill to North Korea
The launch came after North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, condemned US-South Korea military exercises on Wednesday.
Trump cut short the training, scheduled to end on Friday, and said he wanted to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Hours after the launch, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, called Trump’s decision “a clear disaster resulting from the unrealistic and anachronistic security outlook pursued by South Korea,” arguing that South Korea was in a “master-servant” relationship with the United States.
President Trump said Monday that he received a response from Kim Jong Un following the curtailment of military exercises. However, Kim’s sister said Wednesday that she was unaware of recent communications between the two countries’ leaders and insisted that the United States’ “hostile policy” toward North Korea had not changed.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that the Russian government “can only welcome” the U.S. decision to reduce its participation in military exercises with South Korea.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Seoul this week, said the United States should abandon its “hostile” policy toward North Korea to ease tensions on the peninsula, and urged South Korea not to take sides with China or the United States.
Trump’s sudden focus on Kim and the curtailment of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises have alarmed allies in Asia, while speculation has grown that Trump is seeking a foreign policy victory as the Iran war stalls.
