Launched Near Hwangju, Hwanghaebuk-do...
Believed to Be CRBM
On the first day of the '2025 Freedom Shield (FS)' exercise, North Korea launched ballistic missile provocations into the West Sea on the 10th.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that around 1:50 p.m. that day, North Korean forces fired several unidentified ballistic missiles from inland Hwanghaebuk-do towards the West Sea. This marks the first ballistic missile provocation by North Korea in about two months since January 14.
The Joint Chiefs stated, "The unidentified North Korean ballistic missiles were launched near Hwangju, Hwanghaebuk-do, and are likely short-range ballistic missiles (CRBM)."
This missile launch is interpreted as targeting the FS exercise conducted by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, which began that day. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, through a Foreign Ministry press release titled "The excessive use of force by the United States will lead to an intensified security crisis," criticized the FS exercise, stating, "It only adds justification to the Party's principle of the strongest hardline response to the U.S. and we must remember that it will lead to undesirable consequences amid heightened security threats."
In particular, regarding the second Trump administration, it said, "Regardless of the inevitable policy ambiguity during regime change, the U.S.'s consistent military madness clearly reveals their inherent hostile attitude toward our country, submerged in sanctions, pressure, and confrontation, which is their innate practice toward Korea."
The Foreign Ministry also stated, "We have expressed our determination to continue exercising strategic deterrence in response to the U.S.'s ongoing military demonstrations," and added, "Our responsible efforts to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through reliable power accompanied by the rapid advancement of nuclear forces will be doubled."
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