"North Korea launches several short-range ballistic missiles"... provocation just before U.S. presidential election

"North Korea launches several short-range ballistic missiles over the East Sea"
"Launched in Sarriwon, North Hwanghae Province...400km flight"
Estimated super-large multiple rocket launcher..."At least 7 rounds and 100 kilometers in altitude"
Provoked again five days after the launch of the new ICBM 'Hwasong-19 type
"Provoking just before the U.S. presidential election, intent to pressure the next U.S. president"

[Anchor]
Five days after North Korea launched its new intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, it has fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

It seems to be intended to pressure the next U.S. president by maximizing its presence while provoking just before the start of the U.S. presidential election.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea around 7:30 a.m.

It was found that it was launched from the Sariwon area of Hwanghaebuk-do and flew about 400 kilometers.

It is estimated to be a 600mm super-large multiple rocket launcher, and the Japanese Defense Ministry observed that at least seven shots were fired and the highest altitude was 100km.

[Lee Sung-joon / Joint Chiefs of Staff Press Director: Detailed specifications are being comprehensively analyzed and evaluated at the same time. If I have a chance to explain it, I will tell you separately.

North Korea's missile provocation came five days after it launched its new intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-19, into the East Sea on March 31.

In particular, it is analyzed that the intention is to pressure the next U.S. president by maximizing its presence while provoking the main vote of the U.S. president about six hours before the start of the main vote.

It is also interpreted as a protest against the South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint air training conducted two days ago.

In response to North Korea's ICBM provocation on the 3rd, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held their second aerial training this year with the participation of B-1B, a U.S. strategic bomber called the "swan of death."

In a statement released just before the missile provocation, North Korean Labor Party Vice Chairman Kim Yo-jong blasted the South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercise and claimed that it proves the legitimacy and urgency of the nuclear force-enhancing line.

[Cho Han-beom / Senior Researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification: It seems that they have in mind negotiations after the (US) presidential election. And recently, there have been talks of nuclear disarmament in the United States, acknowledging North Korea's nuclear weapons and freezing nuclear weapons.]

The military says North Korea's ballistic missile launches must immediately halt all threatening activities in a clear violation of Security Council resolutions, and once again warns that North Korea is responsible for all consequences.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.

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video: Ma Young-hoo