• The United States and South Korea launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, mirroring a North Korean missile parade.
• It was North Korea’s 18th wave of missile testing in 2022, which included the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile launches in nearly five years.

The US and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, matching a North Korean missile display the day before, extending a provocative streak in weapons tests.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the partners’ live-fire drill included eight Army Tactical Missile System missiles fired into South Korean waters over a 10-minute period.

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The simulation was intended to demonstrate the ability to respond quickly and correctly to North Korean assaults, according to the statement.

The South Korean military detected North Korea firing eight short-range missiles from at least four different locations on Sunday, including the western and eastern coasts and two inland areas north of and near Pyongyang, in what appeared to be a single-day record for the country’s ballistic launches.

It was North Korea’s 18th wave of missile testing in 2022, which included the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile launches in nearly five years.

North Korea is also preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017, according to South Korean and US officials, as leader Kim Jong Un pushes a brinkmanship aimed at cementing the North’s status as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Following North Korea’s earlier missile tests on May 25, US and South Korean forces performed a similar live-fire rehearsal, which South Korea’s military said involved one ICBM flown on a medium-range trajectory and two short-range weapons.

These tests came as Biden was wrapping up a tour to South Korea and Japan, where he reiterated the United States’ commitment to both partners.

The North Korean state media has yet to respond to Sunday’s blasts.

They came after the United States aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan completed a three-day naval drill with South Korea in the Philippine Sea on Saturday, reportedly their first joint drill involving a carrier since November 2017, as the countries step up defence exercises in response to North Korean threats.

North Korea has long criticised the partners’ joint military exercises as invasion rehearsals, and it has frequently responded with its own missile drills, including short-range launches in 2016 and 2017 that simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean ports and US military bases in Japan.

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Japan and the United States staged a joint ballistic missile practise hours after the North Korean launches to demonstrate their rapid response capacity and strong commitment to fight threats, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.

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