North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Towards Sea Amid US–South Korea Military Drills
North Korea launched about 10 ballistic missiles into the sea during the US–South Korea Freedom Shield military exercises; the missiles landed into the sea, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone
March 14, 2026 - North Korea launched about 10 ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Saturday (March 14), according to South Korea’s military. The launches came during large joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, known as the Freedom Shield drills.
The missiles were fired from the Sunan area near Pyongyang around 1:34 pm local time and reportedly travelled roughly 340–350 km before landing in the sea, outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japan issued an emergency alert after detecting the missile activity but later confirmed no impact in its waters. Japan and South Korea confirmed there was no damage to aircraft or ships.
Following this, South Korea’s military has increased surveillance and readiness for possible additional launches.
The Freedom Shield exercises involve thousands of troops, tanks, armoured vehicles and combat training designed to test readiness against North Korean threats. The United States maintains about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, which is part of its regional defence posture. North Korea strongly opposes these annual spring drills, calling them “dress rehearsals” for armed aggression by the US and South Korea.
The incident happened shortly after talks in Washington where US President Donald Trump and South Korea’s leadership discussed possible renewed dialogue with North Korea. The large-scale drills began five days earlier than usual while a intense war is on in West Asia involving Iran, US and Israel which has led to thousands of casualties since February 28.
Pyongyang has warned of “serious consequences” over the joint drills and continues expanding its missile and nuclear programmes despite international sanctions.
South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said the incident marks the third time North Korea has fired ballistic missiles since the start of the year.
With Media Inputs
#NorthKorea #MissileLaunch #FreedomShield #SouthKorea #JapanAlert #KoreanPeninsula #USMilitary #BallisticMissile #GlobalSecurity #AsiaNews #DefenceNews #Geopolitics
To join us on Facebook Click Here and Subscribe to UdaipurTimes Broadcast channels on GoogleNews | Telegram | Signal