North Korea Launches Missiles as US-South Korea Drills End Early

American-South Korea war games ended on Friday, following a blast of rhetoric from Kim Jong Un’s sister and North Korean missile tests.

The US and South Korean militaries wrapped up their annual drills six days earlier than initially scheduled on Friday. North Korea rebuffed President Trump's apparent bid to reengage diplomatically this week, issuing rhetorical salvos aimed at Trump's last-minute orders to shorten US-South Korea joint military exercises. To reinforce its point, North Korea followed up later in the day with a barrage of about a dozen short-range ballistic missiles launched from around the capital Pyongyang eastward toward the sea.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stated that Pyongyang regards the scaling back of the annual exercises as unworthy of comment and that it does not change the drills' provocative and offensive nature. She also mocked South Korea as a US puppet for its inability to protest the drill cutback.

Kim Yo Jong dismissed Trump's claim of contact with her brother, stating, "I am not aware of it at all." President Trump posted on social media on Monday that he had ordered the drills shortened because he thinks they are costly and send a hostile message to North Korea. He later said he had reached out to Kim for a meeting and received a positive response, expressing his desire for another rendezvous later this year.

A US State Department spokesperson said the United States remains open to dialogue with North Korea without preconditions and that the president and Kim Jong Un will meet again at the appropriate time. South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun admitted officials did not know of Trump's intent to scale down the exercise in advance. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung showed a positive attitude, saying he will remain fully dedicated to serving as a peacemaker to facilitate Trump’s peacemaking endeavors.

However, there is a fear that Trump may draw down 27,000 US troops stationed in South Korea or abandon the denuclearization policy without consulting its ally.