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| ▲ A missile is launched from the North Korean town of Hamju, South Hamgyong Province, on March 25, 2021, in this file photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) N Korea-missile launch
(2nd LD) N. Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles just ahead of U.S. election
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with latest details)
By Chae Yun-hwan
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, in the latest saber-rattling just hours ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches at about 7:30 a.m. from the Sariwon area in the western province of North Hwanghae, and they flew about 400 kilometers before splashing into the sea.
It did not specify the number of missiles fired, noting further analysis is under way.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command also confirmed and condemned the launches, calling on the North to refrain from further "unlawful and destabilizing" acts.
The provocation took place just hours before Americans head to the polls to vote between Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump on Tuesday (U.S. time).
South Korean officials have said the North could stage weapons tests around the U.S. presidential vote to attract outside attention.
The launches came five days after the North launched the new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) -- theoretically capable of reaching the U.S. mainland -- into the East Sea on Thursday.
North Korea boasted of the new ICBM launch, claiming it renewed the records of its strategic missile capability and that it secured an "irreversible hegemonic position" in developing delivery means of nuclear weapons.
Experts said with the ICBM launch, North Korea appeared to aim to flaunt its nuclear capabilities ahead of the U.S. election and divert attention from condemnation from the North's troop dispatch to Russia.
In response to last week's launch, South Korea, the United States and Japan staged combined air drills, involving a U.S. B-1B bomber, over waters east of the southern island of Jeju on Sunday, according to the JCS.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North's leader, blasted the air exercise just before the latest launch, describing it as demonstrating the "most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature" of the enemy.
North Korea has bristled against the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to and near the Korean Peninsula, accusing Washington of heightening tensions.
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