North Korean soldiers conduct a mortar drill at an unspecified location in North Korea, Aug. 11, 2025. (Korean Central News Agency)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — North Korea’s military conducted mortar drills Monday, one week before the South and the United States are scheduled to kick off the second of their large, annual military exercises.
Mortar teams overseen by several senior North Korean military officials at an unspecified location were tasked with “striking different enemy targets in sight and major facilities,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
The drills demonstrated “the strong will of the army to … reliably defend the security and sovereignty” of North Korea from the South, KCNA reported.
The report did not state whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the demonstration.
South Korea’s military is “closely monitoring the enemy’s movement and maintaining readiness against possible provocations,” Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman army Col. Lee Sung Joon said during a news conference Tuesday.
The drills were held a day after North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang-chol warned South Korea and the U.S. of “negative consequences” for conducting Ulchi Freedom Shield, a large-scale exercise the allies hold throughout the South.
North Korea routinely criticizes the South’s military drills with the U.S., Japan and other nations, and condemns them as rehearsals for an invasion.
“We strongly denounce the U.S. and [South Korea] for their provocative moves of clearly showing the stand of military confrontation … and once again endangering the security environment on the Korean Peninsula,” No said in a statement published Sunday by KCNA.
Ulchi Freedom Shield is scheduled to start Monday and conclude Aug. 28 throughout South Korea on air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. It is one of two major exercises the allies conduct in South Korea each year. Freedom Shield, the first exercise, was held March 10 through March 20.
Roughly 18,000 South Korean troops are expected to take part in the upcoming, defense-oriented exercise, Lee said during a news conference Aug. 7.
U.S. Forces Korea, the command responsible for 28,500 American troops in South Korea, does not provide troop figures for large-scale exercises, citing operational security.
Despite issuing warnings against Seoul, Pyongyang has taken several steps toward deescalating tensions with its neighbor in recent weeks.
South Korea’s military reported Saturday that the North had removed some of its propaganda loudspeakers installed at the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two countries, a move that came five days after the South dismantled its own loudspeakers on its side of the border.
Both Koreas in June silenced their loudspeakers, which are used as a form of psychological warfare.
