North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan’s Coast Guard, ratcheting up tensions just hours ahead of the U.S. election.At least one missile was launched toward waters off its east coast, Japan’s Coast Guard said. The missile likely already fell, it said. Other details, including the exact flight range of the missile, were not immediately available. The missile likely fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to Japan’s national broadcaster NHK.The launch comes just days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that achieved a record flight potentially allowing leader Kim Jong Un to load heavier warheads to deliver a nuclear strike to the U.S. mainland. The move also comes as Kim sent thousands of troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war on Ukraine, raising fears of an escalation of the conflict.Kim has been raising the profile of his nuclear program as the U.S. readies for its presidential election. In September, North Korea released its first photos of a facility to enrich uranium for atomic bombs, showing Kim touring a plant at the center of a program that has been a point of friction with the U.S. for more than 20 years.
