SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea’s military said, hours after South Korean and U.S. troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

The South Korean military said the accident near the North Korean border occurred during training ahead of Freedom Shield, an annual U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise.

South Korean fighter jets accidentally bombed homes during a live-fire drill with US forces, injuring more than two dozen people on Thursday, Seoul’s military said.

S EOUL, South Korea — A South Korean fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area during training Thursday, reportedly injuring seven people. The MK-82 bombs “abnormally” released by the KF-16 fighter jet fell outside a firing range, causing unspecified civilian damages, the air force said in a statement.

The number of people injured after South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped bombs on a civilian area on Thursday increased to 15 civilians and 14 soldiers, the country's defence ministry said.

Multiple people have been injured, two seriously, after South Korea fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs over a village in Pocheon, according to local media reports.

The South Korean air force says the MK-82 bombs released by the KF-16 fighter jets fell outside a firing range.

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Monday afternoon, Seoul's military said, on the first day of a large-scale joint U.S-South Korea military exercise on the Peninsula.

South Korean and U.S. troops will begin their large annual joint military drills next week to enhance their readiness against North Korean threats.

South Korean and U.S. militaries halted all live-fire exercises across South Korea after South Korean jets mistakenly released bombs on a civilian area.

South Korea suspended the training flights of air force aircraft and all live-fire drills following its fighter jets’ accidental bombing of a civilian area, officials said, posing a potential setback to its upcoming annual military training with the United States.