North Korea launches barrage of missiles after Trump cuts US-South Korea exercises

North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump scaled back joint military exercises with South Korea.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from the Pyongyang region at around 5:00 PM local time towards North Korea's eastern waters.

South Korea increased surveillance following the launches and was coordinating with the United States and Japan.

The country's national security council also held an emergency meeting and urged Pyongyang to stop ballistic missile launches, which are prohibited under UN Security Council resolutions.

The launches came after US and South Korean forces announced significant reductions to their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises following Trump's order to “substantially reduce” the drills.

Trump cited his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as one reason for the move.

Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, dismissed the decision on Wednesday, saying: “The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”

“If the US calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer.”

However, Kim Yo-jong said relations between her brother and Trump were “still excellent”.

Asked on Wednesday whether he would meet Kim this year, Trump replied: “Yeah, I will be.”