North Korea launches ballistic missiles ahead of Trump’s Asia trip

South Korea’s military reported several short-range ballistic missiles fired south of Pyongyang on Wednesday, marking North Korea’s first missile tests in months. The missiles traveled about 220 miles and did not land in the sea, according to South Korean officials. President Donald Trump will travel to South Korea next week to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit.

How are officials responding? U.S. Indo-Pacific Command released a Wednesday statement condemning the launches and calling on North Korea to refrain from what the agency characterized as further destabilizing actions. The launches posed no immediate threat to the United States, but officials will continue monitoring the region, according to the statement. Officials also reaffirmed America's commitment to defending its regional allies, South Korea and Japan. The United States is in close communications with Japan and South Korea, and all three are sharing real-time missile warning data, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday. No damage has been reported, Sanae added.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on North Korea launching ballistic missiles around this time last year.