North Korea fired ballistic missiles as joint US-South Korea military exercises entered their final stage, prompting Seoul to convene an emergency security meeting amid renewed efforts to engage Pyongyang.

US President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to ‘substantially’ reduce joint South Korea-US military exercises, framing the decision as both a conciliatory gesture toward North Korea and a response to the drills’ high costs [File: Yonhap South Korea Out/EPA

South Korea has condemned North Korea’s launch ⁠of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles, following military drills between Seoul and Washington that US President Donald Trump is seeking to curb.

South Korea’s presidential office on Thursday convened an emergency security meeting with defence ministry and military officials after North Korea fired missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the sea east of the Korean Peninsula, the office said in a statement.

“The ballistic missile launch is a grave act ‌that violates UN Security Council resolutions,” Seoul said, calling on North Korea to immediately halt further missile launches.

The latest launches from nuclear-armed North Korea come as South Korea and the US held a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from Trump to scale them back.

Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.

The North Korean missiles flew around 300km (186 miles) toward the sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers that the short-range ballistic missiles are believed to be 600 mm multiple rocket launchers, adding that Seoul has tracked them because they could be potentially deployed near its border with the South.

Pyongyang has previously described the 600 mm system, known externally as the KN-25, as being able to deliver tactical nuclear warheads. Ahn said earlier in the day that ⁠North Korea possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads.

Trump reduces drills in bid to court Pyongyang

The launch came after North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday condemned the ⁠US-South Korea military drills.

Trump cut the drills short – they are now set to end Friday – and said he wanted to revive diplomacy with leader Kim Jong Un.

Hours after the launches, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, described Trump’s decision as “an evident disaster brought by the unrealistic and anachronistic security outlook” pursued by Seoul, arguing the South had a “master-and-servant” relationship with the US.

Trump said on Monday he had received a response from Kim Jong Un after scaling back the military exercises. However, Kim’s sister on Wednesday said she was unaware of any recent communications between the two countries’ leaders, maintaining the “hostile policy” of the US towards North Korea had ⁠not changed.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman ⁠Maria Zakharova ⁠on Thursday ‌said Moscow “can only welcome” the US decision ⁠to cut ⁠back its ⁠participation in military ⁠exercises ⁠with South Korea.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who visited Seoul this week, urged South Korea ‌not ‌to take sides between Beijing and Washington, saying the US should abandon its “hostile” policy toward North Korea to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump’s sudden focus on Kim and his scaling back of joint US-South Korean military drills have alarmed Asian allies, while sparking speculation that he was seeking a foreign policy win as the Iran war stalls.