North Korea on Tuesday fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, the South Korean military said, as the country continued its weapons demonstrations hours before the U.S. presidential election.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew about 250 miles but did not specify how many were fired. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said they landed in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The launches came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland.
In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force.
That drew condemnation from Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, who on Tuesday accused North Korea’s rivals of raising tensions with “aggressive and adventuristic military threats.”
South Korean officials had said that North Korea was likely to dial up its military displays around the U.S. presidential election to command the attention of Washington.
South Korea’s military intelligence agency said last week that North Korea has also most likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
Outside officials and analysts say North Korea eventually hopes to use an expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to win concessions such as sanctions relief after a new U.S. president is elected.
There are widespread views that Kim Jong Un would prefer a win by Republican candidate Donald Trump, with whom he engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018-19, seeing him as a more likely counterpart to give him what he wants than Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. During campaigning, Harris said she would not “cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump.”
