North Korea fired about 10 unidentified ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with South Korea, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce”. Japan’s defence ministry also confirmed the launch, saying on its official X account that “what is possibly a ballistic missile was launched from North Korea”. Terrible consequencesLast month, Pyongyang’s leader Kim said North Korea had “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots”. Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, a powerful confidante of her brother Kim Jong Un, said the joint drills “may cause unimaginably terrible consequences”.

Source: Punch March 14, 2026 08:02 UTC