Thursday, North Korea flew 12 airplanes near its border with South Korea, forcing Seoul officials to scramble 30 military aircraft in response. The exceedingly uncommon incident occurred hours after North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea as part of its sixth missile test in less than two weeks.

South Korea's military reported that eight North Korean fighter planes and four bombers flew in formation and performed air-to-surface fire exercises.

According to the military, South Korea responded by scrambling 30 fighter jets and other warplanes, but they did not engage the North Korean aircraft in combat.

South Korean media reported that the North Korean planes were likely hundreds of kilometers away from the border.

North Korea has previously sent military aircraft near the border, but this is likely the first time it has mobilized so many jets for such provocative flying and fire operations, according to the Yonhap news agency.

In reaction to North Korea's recent barrage of missile tests, South Korea, the United States, and Japan have conducted joint military exercises, resulting in a major increase in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters early Thursday morning. Following North Korea's firing of a nuclear-capable missile over Japan earlier this week, the United States redeployed an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula.

This year, North Korea performed a record number of missile launches. According to South Korean officials, the North could escalate tensions further by testing an intercontinental ballistic missile or performing its first nuclear test explosion since 2017 by its historical pattern of escalating hostilities before to negotiating for concessions.

According to some experts, Kim Jong Un is intent on expanding his nuclear arsenal in violation of international sanctions. They assert that North Korea's ultimate objective is to be recognized as a legitimate nuclear state by the United States and to have sanctions lifted, even though Washington and its allies have shown no evidence of doing so.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff stated in a statement that the most recent missiles were launched 22 minutes apart from North Korea's capital region and landed between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The first missile traveled 350 kilometers (217 miles) and reached a height of 80 kilometers (50 miles), while the second traveled 800 kilometers (497 miles) and reached an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles) (37 miles).

Yasukazu Hamada, the Japanese minister of defense, stated that the second missile may have been launched on an "irregular" trajectory. It is a word used to characterize the flight characteristics of a North Korean weapon built after Russia's Iskander missile, which is meant to be agile in flight to increase its chances of avoiding missile defenses.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that U.S., South Korean, and Japanese destroyers have commenced joint training off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula to hone their abilities to detect, track, and intercept North Korean ballistic missiles.

The U.S. destroyer is part of the strike group commanded by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which returned to the waters to display the allies' "firm will" to oppose North Korea's continuous provocations and threats, according to South Korea's military.

The strike group was in the region during the previous week as part of earlier drills between South Korea and the United States, as well as other training including Japan. North Korea perceives such U.S.-led exercises near the peninsula as invasion rehearsals and views training involving an American aircraft carrier as highly provocative.

According to Yoon's office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke by phone on Thursday and agreed that North Korea's recent missile tests pose a threat to international peace. According to Kishida, the two emphasized the significance of the deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. and South Korea-U.S. alliances, as well as security cooperation between the three nations.

Moon Hong Sik, a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense, stated that North Korea's escalating nuclear tests show Kim Jong Un's urgent desire to achieve his armaments development goals.

Kim outlined a lengthy wish list of upgraded nuclear weapons systems last year, including more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, multiwarhead missiles, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, and tactical nuclear weaponry.

North Korea conducted its most provocative military display since 2017 on Tuesday, launching an intermediate-range missile over Japan and prompting the Japanese government to issue evacuation advisories and halt trains.

The weapon was most certainly a Hwasong-12 missile capable of reaching Guam and beyond, according to experts.

Other missiles and ballistic weapons designed to strike critical targets in South Korea, including U.S. military sites there, were also tested in recent days.

The Foreign Ministry of North Korea issued a statement on Thursday stating that the repositioning of the Reagan strike group poses a "serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula and in the region." The ministry stated that it firmly condemns U.S.-led moves at the U.N. Security Council to strengthen sanctions on the North over its recent missile tests, which it defined as a "just counteraction" to U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Following North Korea's launch of an intermediate-range missile, the United States and South Korea conducted their live-fire drills with land-to-land ballistic missiles and precision-guided bombs delivered by fighter planes.

The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Albania, Norway, and Ireland have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. However, Wednesday's debate concluded without a consensus, highlighting the growing rift among the council's permanent members over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia and China argued throughout the summit that North Korea was spurred into action by U.S.-led military maneuvers in the vicinity.

The United States and its allies voiced worry that the inability of the Security Council to establish a consensus on North Korea's record number of missile launches this year was emboldening North Korea and eroding the authority of the most powerful body of the United Nations.

North Korea has launched over 40 ballistic and cruise missiles in over 20 launch events this year, taking advantage of the delayed diplomacy with the United States and Russia's war in Ukraine to accelerate its arms development.