The missile launches took place just hours before the U.S. presidential election.
North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan early on Nov. 5.
Both South Korea and Japan reported the launches, in which missiles have landed outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The short-range missiles were fired from the Sariwon area of North Korea’s North Hwanghae province at about 7:30 a.m. local time, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The JCS estimated that the missiles traveled roughly 400 kilometers (about 249 miles) toward the east coast of the Korean Peninsula but did not specify how many missiles were launched.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense also detected North Korea’s launches, noting that the missiles fell into the Sea of Japan near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, outside Japan’s EEZ.
The Sea of Japan is also known as the East Sea in South Korea.
The ministry said that at least seven of the missiles reached a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) and traveled about 400 kilometers (about 249 miles).
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said his nation will work closely with the United States and South Korea to analyze the missile launches and boost surveillance “in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.”
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it was aware of the launches and urged North Korea to refrain from engaging in further “unlawful and destabilizing” acts.
“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation,” it said in a Nov. 4 statement.
The U.S. military condemned the launches and reaffirmed its “ironclad commitment” to the defense of Japan and South Korea.
The launches took place just hours before the U.S. presidential election.Last week, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which Japan reported reached an altitude of 7,000 kilometers (about 4,350 miles).
On a normal, flatter trajectory, that translates to a potential range of more than 15,000 kilometers (about 9,321 miles), putting anywhere in the mainland United States within range.
Prior to the ICBM launch, South Korean lawmakers warned that North Korea had positioned a launcher for an ICBM, which could be fired at about the time of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in an Oct. 30 statement that the United States is ready to take measures to ensure its security and that of its allies, South Korea and Japan.
Savett called the missile test “a flagrant violation” of several U.N. Security Council resolutions, which is raising tensions and risks destabilizing the region.
After the ICBM launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in the region on Nov. 3 during a drill with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in a show of strength, according to a statement from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Public Affairs.
Stephen Katte contributed to this report.