SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s military said it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward North Korea’s eastern sea on Tuesday as the country continued its weapons demonstrations hours before the U.S. presidential election.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately specify the number of missiles detected or how far they flew. Japan’s Ministry of Defense said the missiles were believed to have already landed at sea and there were no reports of damage.

The launches came just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland. In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral exercise with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force. This was condemned on Tuesday by Kim’s powerful sister, who accused North Korea’s rivals of increasing tensions with “aggressive and adventurous military threats”.

North Korea will likely step up its military demonstrations around the U.S. presidential election to attract Washington’s attention, South Korean officials said. South Korea’s military intelligence agency said last week that North Korea had likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.

Outside officials and analysts say North Korea hopes to eventually use its expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to win concessions such as sanctions relief after a new U.S. president is elected.

There are widespread views that Kim would prefer the Republican candidate to win Donald TrumpWith whom he engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018–19, he viewed her as a counterpart more likely to give him what he wanted than the Democratic candidate. Kamala Harris. While Trump boasted about his personal ties with Kim during the campaign, Harris said she would “not look favorably on tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who support Trump.”

North Korean state media claimed last week that the Hwasong-19 it tested on October 31 was the “world’s most powerful” ICBM, but experts say the solid-fuel missile is too large to be used in a war situation. Experts say North Korea has yet to acquire some critical technologies for building a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring the warhead can withstand the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.

Tensions between the Koreas have reached their highest point in years, as Kim has repeatedly demonstrated his expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs and reportedly provided Russia with munitions and troops to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

North Korea is estimated to have sent between 10,000 and 12,000 troops to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments. If they begin fighting against Ukrainian forces, it would be North Korea’s first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that up to 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia’s Kursk region near the Ukrainian border and are preparing to join Moscow’s fight against Ukraine in the coming days. That’s up from the 8,000 troops the US government mentioned on Thursday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed “deep concern” about the possibility that Russia could transfer nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology to the North in exchange for its weapons, following their meeting in Seoul on Monday. and military personnel.

They said such transfers would “endanger international nonproliferation efforts and threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world,” while calling on North Korea and Russia to immediately withdraw the North’s troops from Russia.

In response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, South Korea, the United States and Japan are expanding their joint military exercises and updating nuclear deterrence plans built around U.S. strategic assets.

North Korea has portrayed its rivals’ joint military exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and used them to justify its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles.

At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, North Korea’s ambassador Kim Song argued that North Korea’s nuclear and ICBM programs are necessary for the country’s self-defense and a necessary response to what he perceives as nuclear threats from the United States. He emphasized that North Korea would accelerate the formation of “our nuclear force that can counter any threat posed by hostile nuclear-weapon states.”

Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood has warned that the US cannot stand back “without responding” to North Korea’s expanding nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the growing threat to US security.

Wood also repeated his call last week for Russia to tell him whether there are North Korean troops in Russia. “We are not in a court of law here,” Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva responded, “and I do not intend to answer questions that the United States asks in the spirit of asking questions.”

—Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.