South Korea’s military announced that North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 (21 Asad). The launch is assessed as a protest against the upcoming joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean military said the missile was launched at around 6 a.m. local time from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast and flew more than 700 kilometers.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff added that, amid the possibility of further missile launches by North Korea, they have raised their monitoring and readiness levels.
In a statement they said: “South Korea, the United States, and Japan have maintained full readiness by closely exchanging information on North Korea’s ballistic missile launch.”
This is the latest missile launch by North Korea, coming six days after Pyongyang fired a missile toward the East Sea last Thursday (August 6); South Korea’s military identified that earlier missile as short-range.
North Korea’s missile launches have taken place ahead of the important annual joint South Korea–U.S. exercise (Ulchi Freedom Shield), which is scheduled to run from August 17 to 27.
South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency meeting on Wednesday in response to the launch, described the missile firing as “provocative,” and called for an immediate halt to such actions.
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