North Korea has fired a volley of short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, only hours after United States President Donald Trump publicly declared his intention to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that more than 10 missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area, travelling roughly 300 kilometres before splashing down in waters off the country’s east coast. Military officials in Seoul and Washington are analysing the launches to determine the exact type of missiles and their capabilities.

The tests coincided with a scaled-down version of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercises between US and South Korean forces. The drills, long denounced by Pyongyang as rehearsals for invasion, were shortened “at the suggestion of the US side,” according to Seoul, following Trump’s directive to reduce their scope.

South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency security meeting, condemning the launches as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and ordering heightened military readiness. Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back reiterated that Seoul will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state and insisted Washington has not abandoned the goal of denuclearisation.

The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War, to deter renewed conflict on the peninsula. The Pentagon insisted that the reduced exercises would not undermine US training objectives or combined defence posture.

Trump, who has repeatedly highlighted his personal rapport with Kim, told reporters that he plans another face-to-face meeting with the North Korean leader and stressed the importance of “getting along” with him. He claimed Pyongyang possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, while South Korean estimates place the North’s arsenal significantly higher.

In a rare public statement, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong Un, said the North Korean leader retains “good memories and feelings” about Trump and described their relationship as “excellent,” though she added she was unaware of any current communication between the two.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, a long-time advocate of bolstering indigenous defence capabilities to reduce reliance on Washington, pledged to support Trump’s renewed diplomatic push, framing it as a potential opening to ease tensions even as North Korea underscores its military leverage.