North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea just hours before the US presidential election in an apparent show of power amid concerns over Pyongyang sending thousands of its troops to fight the Russian war in Europe.
Pyongyang fired at least seven missiles off its east coast, its neighbours said as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister condemned joint military drills involving the US, Japan and South Korea.
The missiles flew to an altitude of 100km and covered a range of 400km before falling outside Japan's exclusive economic zone into the ocean, according to Japan's defence minister Gen Nakatani. South Korea said the missiles were fired at around 7am (local time) on Tuesday from the vicinity of Sariwon in North Hwanghae Province.
The US military said it was monitoring the situation and consulting closely with its allies Japan and South Korea.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of Mr Kim, said military drills by US and its allies justify North Korea’s nuclear reinforcement, state media KCNA said. Ms Kim criticised the “more than 20” military drills the US and its allies have conducted this year.
The launch comes just days after Pyongyang test launched its biggest intercontinental missile which flew at a record distance and with capabilities of reaching mainland US. The Hwasong-19 launch triggered severe condemnation from the UN, Washington and its allies amid fears of Pyongyang receiving missile technology as a reward for sending its troops to Russia.
South Korean officials said the North was likely to dial up its military displays around the US presidential election to command the attention of Washington. The South's spy agency warned last week that Pyongyang has likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
North Korea’s UN envoy claimed the Hermit Kingdom would accelerate the buildup of its nuclear weapons programme to "counter any threat presented by hostile nuclear weapons states".
The North was sanctioned by the UN security council in 2006 and the measures were steadily strengthened to halt its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the recent tests by North Korea have political significance for what they say about the Kim regime’s lack of restraint. "Pyongyang is showing that its contribution of weapons and troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine does not curtail its military activities closer to home."
He added: "On the contrary, cooperation with Moscow appears to enable blatant violations of UN Security Council resolutions."
It is largely viewed that North Korea eventually hopes to use an expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to win concessions such as sanctions relief after a new US president is elected.
There are widespread views that Mr Kim 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, Ms Harris said she won't "cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump".
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers were in Russia's Kursk region near Ukraine's border and were preparing to join Moscow's fight against Ukraine in the coming days.
If they engage in combat, it would be North Korea's first participation in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
