North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, just hours after South Korea and the United States kicked off their annual joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the sea following the start of joint South Korea-US military exercises. Pyongyang views these drills as preparation for an invasion, while the US insists they are defensive.

North Korea on Monday condemned joint U.S.-South Korean military drills as a "provocative act," warning of the danger of sparking war with "an accidental single shot," days after Seoul's air force mistakenly bombed a village on its own territory.