North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles in Protest Against South Korea-U.S.-Japan 'Freedom Edge' Exercise

Missiles Also Launched During Last Month's South Korea-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Shield Exercise

Aircraft from Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted the "2026 Freedom Edge Exercise" on September 11 over the waters east and south of Jeju Island to enhance deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and to protect peace and stability in the region. Photo by Joint Chiefs of Staff

North Korea launched ballistic missiles on September 12, the day after the conclusion of the "Freedom Edge" trilateral military exercise involving South Korea, the United States, and Japan. This ballistic missile launch comes 23 days after the previous one on August 20.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that "several ballistic missiles were detected being fired from the vicinity of Wonsan, North Korea, toward the East Sea at approximately 5:20 a.m." The Joint Chiefs of Staff added, "While enhancing surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, South Korea, the United States, and Japan are maintaining a fully prepared posture by closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles." North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch is believed to be a reaction to the Freedom Edge military exercise, which was conducted for five days from September 7 to 11 in the international waters east and south of Jeju Island by the three countries.

Freedom Edge, which involves major naval and air assets from South Korea, the United States, and Japan, was first held in June 2024 and this is the fourth iteration. It is a multi-domain exercise aimed at strengthening trilateral interoperability to respond to regional threats, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. North Korea has repeatedly denounced the Freedom Edge exercise as a "U.S.-led war rehearsal," and even on September 7, the start date of this latest exercise, the North Korean defense minister issued a statement warning, "We will also take strong and corresponding measures from a position of strength," signaling planned provocations.

On August 20 at around 5 p.m., North Korea launched over 10 short-range ballistic missiles, believed to be 600mm super-large multiple rocket launchers (KN-25), from the vicinity of Pyongyang toward the East Sea. At the time, the armed forces of South Korea and the United States were conducting the regular theater-level combined exercise “Ulchi Freedom Shield” (UFS) on the Korean Peninsula. It appears that North Korea is responding to joint military exercises targeting the North, such as the UFS South Korea-U.S. joint drill and the Freedom Edge trilateral exercise, with repeated ballistic missile launches.

This marks North Korea’s 13th ballistic missile launch so far this year. Notably, North Korea has not reported its three most recent ballistic missile launches since August 6 through its own state media, raising attention on whether the regime will remain silent regarding this latest launch as well.

Meanwhile, on the same day as the ballistic missile launch, North Korea revealed through a report by the Korean Central News Agency that United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres had sent a congratulatory message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to mark the 78th anniversary of the regime's founding ("9·9 Day"). However, North Korea's act of launching ballistic missiles is a violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions. UNSC Resolution 1718, adopted in 2006, calls on North Korea not to conduct any ballistic missile launches, while Resolution 2397, adopted in December 2017, reaffirms that North Korea must not conduct additional launches using ballistic missile technology, nuclear tests, or any other provocations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.