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North Korea conducted multiple launches of short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, just hours before the commencement of the U.S. presidential election proceedings. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed that the missile launches originated from the western North Korean province of North Hwanghae, near the nation’s capital city of Sariwon. The projectiles traveled a distance of approximately 250 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan, also referred to as the East Sea by Koreans.
North Korea recently tested a new ballistic missile, with record flight time and altitude. The world merely watches as this threat grows.
Through Moscow’s assistance, North Korea has advanced its artillery and missile capabilities. Now, they are learning the tactics of modern… pic.twitter.com/LwAv51LwdX
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 1, 2024
While the JCS did not disclose the exact number of missiles fired, they confirmed that there were more than one. An official informed reporters that the launch appeared to involve North Korea’s KN-25 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, which possess sufficient range to strike any part of South Korea from the Sariwon area.
The KN-25 is a mobile launcher equipped with four barrels, utilizing what North Korea refers to as “super-large” rockets. The U.S. military classifies this system as a short-range ballistic missile launcher (SRBM). North Korea first tested the KN-25 in 2019.
The Japanese Defense Ministry corroborated Tuesday’s launch, stating that it involved at least seven missiles fired over a nine-minute period. All of the missiles landed in the Sea of Japan outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
South Korea’s Hankyoreh newspaper speculated that the launch was both a “show of force” ahead of the U.S. presidential election and a “gesture of protest over joint aerial exercises by South Korea, the U.S. and Japan” conducted on Sunday.
🇰🇵 North Korea tested a tactical guided weapon – the Hwasong-18 missile
The missile that was tested is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and has a range of 6648 km .
Kim Jong Un has ordered the military to be on combat alert amid tensions with the US in the region pic.twitter.com/PjNvllRE8q— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) November 1, 2023
The aforementioned exercise took place in the region where the Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) of South Korea and Japan overlap. The exercise involved at least one American B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bomber, whose presence was openly intended as a warning to North Korea following last week’s provocative missile test.
“North Korea test-launched a powerful new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) five days ago. Pyongyang described the missile as a “tremendously powerful weapon” whose successful test – a record 86 minutes in flight – brought “great satisfaction” to dictator Kim Jong-un.”
