North Korea fires a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea ahead
of US election
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[November 05, 2024]
By KIM TONG-HYUNG, HYUNG-JIN KIM and MARI YAMAGUCHI
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a barrage of short-range
ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday, its neighbors said, as it
continued its weapons demonstrations hours before the U.S. presidential
election.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at least seven North Korean
missiles flew as far as 400 kilometers (250 miles) with a maximum
altitude of 100 kilometers (60 miles). He said they landed in the waters
between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
“North Korea’s actions, including a series of repeated missile launches,
threaten the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international
community,” Nakatani said.
South Korea's military also detected several missile launches by North
Korea and subsequently boosted its surveillance posture. The North
Korean missiles could be used to target key facilities in South Korea,
including U.S. military bases there.
The launches came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised
a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile
d esigned 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 have 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 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 won’t “cozy up to tyrants and dictators
like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump.”
North Korea claimed that the Hwasong-19 it tested on Oct. 31 was “the
world’s strongest” ICBM, but experts say the solid-fuel missile is too
big to be useful in war. Experts say North Korea has yet to acquire some
critical technologies to build a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring that
the warhead survives the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry.
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A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's multiple short-range
ballistic missiles with file footage during a news program at the
Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years as
Kim has repeatedly flaunted his expanding nuclear weapon and missile
programs, while reportedly providing Russia with munitions and
troops to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
On Monday, U.S. 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.
After a meeting in Seoul on Monday, senior South Korean and European
Union officials expressed concerns about Russia’s possible transfer
of technology to North Korea to enhance its nuclear program in
exchange for its troops. Such transfers would “jeopardize the
international non-proliferation efforts and threaten peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula and across the globe,” they said.
In response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, South Korea,
the United States and Japan have been expanding their combined
military exercises. North Korea has portrayed such U.S.-led military
drills as rehearsals for an invasion and used them to justify its
relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles.
At a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday, North Korea’s ambassador,
Kim Song, defended the North's nuclear and ICBM programs as a
necessary response to what it perceives as nuclear threats from the
United States. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood warned that the
U.S. cannot stand back from North Korea’s expanding nuclear program
and the growing threat to U.S. security “without a response.”
Wood also repeated last week’s call for Russia to say whether there
are North Korean troops on the ground in Russia. “We’re not in a
court here,” Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva replied,
“and the questions of the United States, in the spirit of an
interrogation, is not something I intend to answer.”
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Edith M.
Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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