North Korea continued its weapons demonstration on Tuesday hours before the U.S. presidential election, firing a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, neighboring countries said.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at least seven North Korean missiles flew to a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (60 miles) and 400 kilometers (250 miles).
It said it landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
“North Korea’s actions, including repeated missile launches, threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community,” Nakatani said.
The South Korean military also detected several missile launches by North Korea and subsequently strengthened its surveillance posture.
North Korean missiles could be used to target major facilities in South Korea, including US military bases in South Korea.
The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a flight test of his country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to reach the U.S. mainland.
In response to the launch, the United States on Sunday flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral exercise with South Korea and Japan in a show of force.
This drew condemnation from Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong. Yo Jong on Tuesday accused North Korea’s rivals of escalating tensions with “aggressive and adventurous military threats.”
South Korean officials have said North Korea is likely to step up military displays around the U.S. presidential election to attract U.S. attention.
South Korea’s military intelligence agency said last week that North Korea is also likely to have completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
Outside officials and analysts say North Korea ultimately hopes to use its nuclear weapons expansion as leverage to win sanctions relief and other concessions after a new U.S. president is elected. .
It is widely believed that Kim Jong-un is hoping for the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy from 2018 to 2019, and that Kim Jong-un is more likely than Democratic candidate Kamala to win. Kim Jong-un is seen as someone who is likely to give him what he wants. Harris.
During her campaign, Harris said, “I have no intention of favoring tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who support Trump.”
North Korea has claimed that the Hwasong-19, which it tested on October 31, is the “world’s most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile, but experts say the solid-fuel missile is too large to be used in war.
Experts say North Korea has yet to acquire key technologies to build a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile, including making warheads able to withstand the harsh conditions of atmospheric entry.
Tensions between the two Koreas continue to rise as Kim repeatedly flaunts expanding his nuclear weapons and missile programs while reportedly providing ammunition and troops to Russia to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. It has reached its highest point in several years.
Up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia’s Kursk region near the Ukraine border and are preparing to join Russian forces in the fight against Ukraine in the coming days, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday. He said he was doing this.
If it engages in combat, it would be the first time North Korea has participated in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
After a meeting in Seoul on Monday, senior officials from South Korea and the European Union expressed concern about Russia potentially transferring technology to North Korea to strengthen its nuclear program in exchange for troops.
They said such a transfer would “jeopardize international nonproliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.”
In response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, South Korea, the United States, and Japan are expanding joint military exercises.
North Korea has portrayed these U.S.-led military exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has used them to justify its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles.
At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, North Korean Ambassador Kim Sung said North Korea’s nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile programs are a necessary response to what North Korea perceives as a nuclear threat from the United States. He defended it as a response.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood has warned that the US cannot back down from North Korea’s expanding nuclear program and the growing threat to US national security “without action.”
Wood also reiterated last week’s call for Russia to say whether North Korean troops are stationed there.
Russia’s Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstinyeva responded: “This is not a courtroom, and I will not answer any American questions in the spirit of interrogation.”
