North Korea fired at least 10 short-range missiles towards the sea on Thursday, according to South Korea’s military.
The missiles were all launched from an area near the North Korean capital Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, according to the Yonhap news agency.
It is unusual for North Korea to launch so many missiles at once. The projectiles flew eastwards towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
North Korea, ruled by Kim Jong Un, is prohibited under several UN Security Council resolutions from launching ballistic missiles.
The launches come just days after both South Korea and the United States made significant concessions towards Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump ordered at the weekend that joint military exercises with South Korea, which began on Monday, be significantly scaled back, citing what he described as his “very good relationship” with Kim.
Asked by reporters at the White House on Wednesday whether he expected to meet Kim this year, Trump said he did.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also called for direct talks with the North Korean leader in mid-August.
Pyongyang nevertheless criticized the moves.
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, said on Wednesday that reducing the scale and duration of the exercises did not change their “provocative and offensive nature,” according to state news agency KCNA.
She said the drills remained hostile military exercises directed against North Korea.