North Korea confirmed today that it carried out an “attack exercise” with artillery units and the launch of ballistic missiles following joint military maneuvers between South Korea, the United States and Japan.
© Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images
14/09/2026
by
Lusa
The North Korean state agency KCNA indicated that on September 12 it carried out a “joint fire drill of long-range artillery and missile units belonging to combined units of all levels” of the Army.
The maneuver included “new combat systems such as attack drones of various types, tactical cruise missiles, large-caliber multiple launchers of thermal pressure and tactical ballistic missiles.” “All systems have demonstrated enormous destructive power by achieving the goals with 100% precision,” KCNA added.
The confirmation comes after the South Korean Joint Staff informed on Saturday that by 5:20 locals (Friday 21:20 in Lisbon), several short-range ballistic missiles were detected fired into the Japanese Sea from the port city of Wonsan.
The day before, South Korea, the United States and Japan completed five days of joint military exercises, bringing together “sea, air, medical and cyber forces from the three countries for training to improve coordination, optimize interoperability and strengthen trilateral defensive preparation.”.
In the same week, North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song-gi threatened to adopt countermeasures against ‘Freedom Edge’ military exercises, accusing Washington of performing continuous maneuvers without interruption, according to KCNA.
The exercises took place as planned, although Seoul and Washington reduced the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise in August, at a time when US President Donald Trump expressed interest in resuming dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.