North Korea's Ballistic Missile Provocation Just Before the US Presidential Election (Update)

North Korea launched a ballistic missile provocation just before the U.S. presidential election.

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The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced to the Ministry of National Defense press corps at around 7:34 a.m. on the 5th that North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea. The military is analyzing detailed specifications such as the missile type, flight distance, altitude, and speed of the missile launched by North Korea.

North Korea's military provocation comes just five days after launching the new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) "Hwasong-19" on the 31st of last month. Furthermore, the provocation was carried out at a time just before the 47th U.S. presidential election voting begins at 2 p.m. Korean time on the same day.

Considering the timing of North Korea's ballistic missile launch, it is interpreted as an attempt to shake up the U.S. election landscape to create a political situation favorable to North Korea and to increase its negotiating power with the U.S. Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, threatened in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on the same day, saying, "The more the military madness of our adversaries intensifies, the more the legitimacy and urgency of our line will be highlighted," and "The driving force and intensity of its implementation will also be directly proportional."

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