ACTING UP

North Korea Unleashes Barrage of Ballistic Missiles After U.S., South Korea Drills

The launch came after the U.S. special envoy for North Korea visited Seoul amid fears of an imminent nuclear test.

North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles early Sunday, a day after the U.S. and South Korea completed joint military exercises. South Korea’s military said a total of eight ballistic missiles were fired from somewhere near Pyongyang’s main airport towards waters off the east coast between 9:08 a.m. and 9:43 a.m. local time. The launch came after the Biden administration last week urged more sanctions on Pyongyang, and just hours after the U.S. special envoy for North Korea visited Seoul to meet with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts. U.S. Special Representative Sung Kim was in the country to discuss contingency plans as U.S. intelligence officials say they see evidence of Pyongyang preparing to conduct a nuclear test, which would be the first since 2017.