North Korea Fires Missiles and Attack Drones at Sea of Japan Island in Coordinated Drill

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea beginning around 5:20 a.m. on September 12, traveling approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) 123. KCNA reported on September 14 that the launches were part of a "joint firepower attack drill" involving subunits from five artillery and missile units, employing attack drones, a tactical cruise missile, a large-caliber thermal-pressure multiple rocket launcher, and a tactical ballistic missile against a target island in the Sea of Japan 24. Marshal Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, oversaw the drill and said it demonstrated the "huge destructive power of concentrated fire" and would improve the military's ability to "bring down the enemy's armed forces organizationally and structurally once an order is issued" 24. KCNA quoted Artillery Bureau Director Yu Chang Son saying the drill was meant to familiarize troops with North Korea's integrated firepower control system and improve concentrated-fire accuracy; state media claimed all systems struck targets with 100 percent accuracy, a claim Stars and Stripes could not independently verify 124. The drill followed the September 7–11 U.S.-South Korea-Japan Freedom Edge exercise, and marked North Korea's 13th ballistic missile launch event of 2026 and its first since August 20 24. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea both stated the launches posed no immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or allies, while South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency meeting and called on Pyongyang to halt violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions 124.