North Korea fired “multiple unidentified ballistic missiles” on Monday (Mar 10), South Korea’s military said. The reports came hours after Pyongyang warned of the danger of sparking a war with “an accidental single shot”.

North Korea’s warning came days after Seoul’s air force mistakenly bombed a village on its own territory. As per South Korea’s military, some 31 people, including civilians and military personnel, were wounded in that incident.

“Our military has detected at around 13:50 (0450 GMT) multiple unidentified ballistic missiles fired from Hwanghae province into the West Sea,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The official referred to the body of water also known as the Yellow Sea.

“Our military will bolster surveillance and maintain a full readiness posture under close cooperation with the United States,” the JCS added.

‘Freedom Shield 2025’ exercise

The firing of ballistic missiles happened on the same day Seoul and Washington started a major annual joint military drill – the “Freedom Shield 2025” exercise. But it has angered Pyongyang as the North Korean administration sees such moves as preparation for an invasion and often carries out missile tests in response. North Korea condemned the military drills, calling it a “provocative act”.

“This is a dangerous provocative act of leading the acute situation on the Korean peninsula, which may spark off a physical conflict between the two sides by means of an accidental single shot, to the extreme point,” the Foreign Ministry said earlier, according to KCNA.

The exercise involved “live, virtual, and field-based training”, according to a US statement, which also added that the exercise will run until March 21.