South Korea has condemned North Korea’s launch of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles and ordered its military to maintain full readiness amid ongoing joint military exercises with the United States.

South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency security meeting on Thursday following the launches, which were carried out from the Pyongyang area toward waters east of the Korean Peninsula.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Defense Ministry and military authorities, who reviewed Seoul’s response posture, assessed the security implications of the launches and discussed additional measures.

“The ballistic missile launch is a grave act that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions,” South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement, calling on Pyongyang to immediately halt such actions.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles traveled approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) before falling into the sea.

Japan also detected the launch, with the government and coast guard reporting that North Korea appeared to have fired a ballistic missile toward the sea.

Japan’s coast guard said the projectile had already fallen. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the missile appeared to have landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The launch came while South Korean and US forces were conducting joint military exercises, which are scheduled to conclude Friday.

The drills were shortened after US President Donald Trump ordered a substantial reduction in American participation and expressed a desire to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The missile launch followed remarks by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who said Wednesday that Washington’s “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang had not changed despite the ongoing military exercises.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the latest launch appeared intended to demonstrate that Kim Yo Jong’s warning was not merely rhetoric.

According to Yang, the launch could serve several purposes, including expressing opposition to the South Korea-US military exercises, signaling displeasure over recent discussions about North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and warning outside powers against speculating about Pyongyang’s security affairs.

He also suggested that the launches could have been used to test improved missile systems.

The latest escalation came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Seoul and urged South Korea not to take sides between Beijing and Washington.

Wang also called on the United States to abandon a “hostile” policy toward North Korea, arguing that a change in Washington’s approach could help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The latest missile launches nevertheless underscore the continuing security tensions surrounding the Korean Peninsula, despite recent signals from Washington about a possible return to diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang. (ILKHA)