North Korea fired more than ten multiple-launch rockets on Thursday morning from the Sunan area on the outskirts of Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The projectiles, detected at around 10:00 a.m. local time, travelled in a north-westerly direction toward the Yellow Sea. Initial assessments by the South Korean military indicate the weapons were 240-millimetre artillery rockets, rather than the North’s larger 600-millimetre systems. Seoul and U.S. intelligence agencies are still analysing the launches, which South Korea generally classifies as short-range ballistic missiles banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions. The test came less than a day after South Korea, the United States and Japan held joint air drills that involved two South Korean F-15K fighters, six U.S. F-16s and two Japanese F-2 jets near Jeju Island. It is North Korea’s first rocket launch since South Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office earlier this month. South Korea’s defence ministry said its forces "maintain the ability and posture to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation" while monitoring further moves by Pyongyang. The launch adds to a series of North Korean weapons tests that continue to raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula.