North Korea fires around 10 short-range ballistic missiles after Trump overture

North Korea launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea's military said.

The missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area at about 5 p.m. local time. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was analyzing the launches in coordination with the United States and Japan and had raised its surveillance posture.

The launches came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year and after Washington ordered a substantial reduction in the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea. Those drills, originally scheduled for 11 days, are now set to end on Friday.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korean leader, had dismissed the scaling back of the exercises the day before, saying the United States' hostile policy had not changed. She also said she was unaware of any recent communication between the two leaders, contradicting Trump's claim that Kim had responded to an earlier message.

South Korea's presidential office convened an emergency security meeting and ordered the military to maintain full readiness. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that North Korea may possess between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads, higher than the 57 figure cited by Trump.

The missiles are believed to include systems previously described by Pyongyang as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Japan confirmed that a projectile had fallen outside its exclusive economic zone.

The test is North Korea's third missile launch this month. It underscores the difficulty Trump faces in trying to revive the personal diplomacy that marked his first term, when the two leaders met three times between 2018 and 2019.

South Korean and U.S. forces continue to monitor the situation under a combined defense posture.