North Korea launched over 10 short-range ballistic missiles one day before the shortened U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise is now set to end, Yonhap News Agency reported Aug. 20. North Korea earlier rejected the exercise reduction as irrelevant, denied communication between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, and criticized South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for portraying the cut as a step toward peace, though Pyongyang also said the Trump-Kim personal relationship remained "excellent."