Mon Mar 10 06:22:11 UTC 2025: ## North Korea Launches Missiles Amid Joint US-South Korea Drills
**SEOUL, South Korea** – North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, March 10, 2025, just hours after the commencement of large-scale joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. This marks the North’s fifth missile launch this year and is seen as a direct response to the “Freedom Shield” drills, which Pyongyang views as a rehearsal for invasion.
The missiles were launched from North Korea’s Hwanghae province, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, though details regarding their range were not disclosed. The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, a command post exercise, resumed after a temporary pause in live-fire training following a tragic accident last week.
Two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight MK-82 bombs on a civilian area in Pocheon, near the North Korean border, injuring approximately 30 people, two critically. A South Korean air force investigation revealed that pilot error, involving incorrect coordinates and a failure to visually verify the target, caused the incident. Gen. Lee Youngsu, chief of staff of the South Korean air force, issued a public apology. All live-fire exercises have been temporarily suspended pending the completion of the investigation and the implementation of preventative measures.
The joint military exercises are the first large-scale drills since U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term began. They occur amid heightened tensions with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and its alignment with Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine. While President Trump has indicated a willingness to re-engage in diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang has yet to respond and continues its strong condemnation of the joint exercises. The North Korean Foreign Ministry described the Freedom Shield exercise as an “aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal” that risks triggering conflict. The ministry reiterated Kim Jong Un’s commitment to expanding North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
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