North Korea fires ballistic missiles after US conducts military drills with South Korea and Japan: ‘Firing range’

North Korea fired several ballistic missiles off the country’s east coast on Monday morning, a day after the United States held joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the United States “the worst maniacs” in a statement after the latest missile launches.

“The frequency of using the Pacific as a firing range depends on the action character of US forces,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. “We are well aware of the movement of strategic strikes by US forces that has recently accelerated around the Korean Peninsula.”

Both South Korea and Japan detected ballistic missile launches on Monday morning, although the types of missiles and their flight paths were not immediately known.

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On Saturday, North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in what state media described as a test to verify the country’s “deadly” nuclear attack capability.

The ICBM traveled a distance of approximately 615 miles and reached an altitude of 3,585 miles before landing in waters off the coast of Japan.

In this photo provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry, US Air Force B-1B bombers, center, F-22 fighter jets and Army F-35 fighter jets Korean air force, bottom, fly over the South Korean peninsula during a joint air exercise in South Korea, January 1, 2023. (South Korean Ministry of Defense via AP, File)

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The United States flew long-range supersonic bombers on Sunday in response to the Saturday test, with South Korean fighter jets escorting American B-1B bombers.

North Korea launched a record 90 missiles last year, although Saturday’s ICBM test was the first launch since Jan. 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.