North Korea Escalates Missile Tests Amid US Tensions

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, prompting heightened surveillance from South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. The launches follow a trilateral military exercise by the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, criticized as aggressive, justifying North Korea's nuclear strategy. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command labeled the launches as destabilizing but not an immediate threat, while Japan confirmed the missiles fell outside its economic zone without causing damage.