Latest news with #JCS


Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
NK fires multiple rocket launcher shells
North Korea fired some 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launchers in the morning, South Korea's military said Thursday. 'Our military detected 10 artillery shells from multiple rocket launcher systems that were fired from the Sunan area in North Korea, near Pyongyang, towards the northwest at around 10 a.m.,' the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The Yellow Sea lies northwest of Sunan. The JCS said it had detected signs of the launches in advance and was prepared to respond. South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis of the latest weapon test, the JCS said. While the JCS usually immediately alerts the press about North Korea's test-firing of missiles, it said the delay in Thursday's announcement was due to a lack of urgency. 'North Korea constantly fires artillery shells from multiple rocket launchers, and Thursday's launch was not a ballistic missile.' While the JCS and the North both have yet to announce whether the artillery shells fired Thursday were from 240 mm or 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, observers projected it to be the former. North Korea announced last year that it would deploy an upgraded 240 mm multiple rocket launcher to its military starting that year. The weapon system is known to target the South's broader capital area. Thursday's test-firing closely followed a trilateral aerial exercise jointly conducted by South Korea, the US and Japan on Wednesday, to strengthen security cooperation. It marked the first of such exercises to take place after the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration.


Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
North Korea fires 10 multiple rocket launcher shells after trilateral air drills
Seoul: North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South conducted joint air drills with the United States and Japan. The North fired the shells toward the Yellow Sea at around 10 a.m. from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the military said, adding that South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis of the latest weapon test. The North's 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range. Last year, the North conducted a test-launch of what it claimed to be a multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new guidance system, Yonhap news agency reported. The weapon test came a day after South Korea, the US and Japan conducted a three-way aerial exercise as part of efforts to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean military threats. The exercise, the first to take place under the Lee Jae Myung government, involved the South Korean F-15K, the US F-16 and the Japanese F-2 fighter jets. Last month, North Korea had fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea, South Korea's military said, a day after a "serious" accident occurred during Pyongyang's launch of a new warship. The launches took place as North Korea said earlier in the day that parts of a new naval destroyer were "crushed" during its launch ceremony, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "criminal act" that could not be tolerated. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North's missile launches from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province, without providing further details, such as the number of missiles fired. The JCS said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities so that Pyongyang does not "misjudge" the current security situation, adding that it is maintaining the capabilities to "overwhelmingly" respond to any provocation. It marked the North's latest major missile launch this month after it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 8. The South's military usually does not immediately announce North Korean cruise missile launches, compared with ballistic ones, which are banned under UN Security Council resolutions.


Korea Herald
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Military to begin Hwarang defense drills next week against NK threats
The military will kick off the annual Hwarang drills with local governments, police and firefighting authorities next week in efforts to hone an integrated defense posture against North Korea's threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The first segment of the exercise will take place in Incheon, west of Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, from Monday through June 20, and continue in four other areas, including the capital, through November, according to the JCS. This year's drills incorporate simulated situations tailored to the participating regions and field training exercises involving all relevant authorities. In particular, the exercise will be aimed at effectively responding to the changing security situation, marked by the North's advancing nuclear and missile threats as well as increasing use of drones, the JCS said. (Yonhap)


NBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
North Korea appears to follow the South in suspending loudspeaker broadcasts
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea appears to have stopped loudspeakers near the border targeting South Korea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The JCS said that North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts were not heard on Thursday, and the South Korean military was monitoring Pyongyang's activities. Seoul suspended its own loudspeaker broadcasts near the border targeting North Korea on Wednesday, after having resumed propaganda and K-pop blasts last year during a time of growing tension with its neighbor. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who took office this month vowing to resume dialogue with the North, ordered the move to ease tension, reduce military confrontation and build trust, his spokesperson said, as North Korea has refrained from provocations lately. Those living near the heavily fortified border have opposed the loudspeaker broadcasts, which they blame for severe noise nuisance. Seoul's resumption last July of a round-the-clock campaign of loudspeaker broadcasts was in response to Pyongyang's launch of balloons carrying trash over the border, the South's military said at the time. Pyongyang had said the balloons were retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who regularly send inflatables with anti-Pyongyang leaflets and other items across the border.


Daily Maverick
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
North Korea appears to have stopped loudspeakers blasting noise, Seoul says
The JCS said that North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts were not heard on Thursday, and the South Korean military was monitoring Pyongyang's activities. Seoul suspended its own loudspeaker broadcasts near the border targeting North Korea on Wednesday, after having resumed propaganda and K-pop blasts last year during a time of growing tension with its neighbour. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who took office this month vowing to resume dialogue with the North, ordered the move to ease tension, a presidential spokesperson said. Those living near the heavily fortified border have opposed the loudspeaker broadcasts, which they blame for severe noise nuisance.