North Korea Fires Missile Barrage Days After Trump Scales Back Major Drills

August 20, 2026 4:29 PM ET North Korea fired roughly ten short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Thursday, days after President Donald Trump ordered the United States to scale back a major military exercise with South Korea.The missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area at about 5 p.m. local time and traveled roughly 300 kilometers before falling toward the sea east of North Korea, Associated Press reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. South Korean military officials increased surveillance following the launches and coordinated intelligence with the United States and Japan.The barrage came as the United States and South Korea approached the end of a shortened version of Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of the allies’ major annual military exercises. (RELATED: