NORTH KOREA fired several ballistic missiles into the sea today, South Korea’s military said.

This came hours after South Korean and United States troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the missile firings, North Korea’s fifth missile launch event this year, were detected from the North’s south-western Hwanghae province but gave no further details such as how far they flew.