North Korea Fires Barrage of ~10 Short-Range Ballistic Missiles from Pyongyang Area, 12th Test of 2026

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected roughly a dozen short-range ballistic missiles launched from the greater Pyongyang capital region around 5:00 p.m. local time on August 20, 2026, fired toward North Korea's eastern waters (East Sea). The barrage came despite — and just two days after — President Trump signaled a 'very positive' reopening of contact with Kim Jong-un and a day after Trump said he expects to meet Kim later this year. South Korea's presidential national security office convened an emergency meeting to assess the launches and issued a statement urging North Korea to 'halt such provocations in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.' South Korea's military said it was closely sharing information with the US and Japan while maintaining a 'staunch' combined defense posture. By South Korea's count, it was North Korea's 12th suspected ballistic missile test of 2026, following the August 6 and August 12 launches.