Seoul: Just hours before Americans headed to the polls, North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Tuesday morning, confirmed by military authorities in South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported detecting the launches around 7:30 am from the Sariwon area in North Hwanghae Province, located south of Pyongyang. According to reports, the missiles traveled approximately 400 kilometers after liftoff.

The JCS said, “While strengthening our military's monitoring and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, we are maintaining full readiness while closely sharing North Korean ballistic missile data with U.S. and Japanese authorities.”

The Japanese Defense Ministry also confirmed a possible ballistic missile launch from North Korea, noting that the projectile appeared to have already fallen.

This missile activity came just hours before voters in the United States cast ballots in the presidential election, choosing between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

This launch follows North Korea’s recent test on October 31 of its new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable in theory of reaching the U.S. mainland. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “great satisfaction” with the launch of this advanced ICBM, declaring that North Korea’s nuclear capability was now “irreversible.”

In response, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted joint air exercises on Sunday, including a U.S. B-1B bomber, over waters near South Korea’s southern island of Jeju.

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