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North Korea launches missile but test appears to have failed North Korea conducts dual test of Musudan missile
(about 2 hours later)
North Korea has launched another medium-range rocket, but the latest test appears to have failed, according to US and South Korean officials. North Korea conducted two back-to-back tests of a new medium-range missile on Wednesday, with at least one launch ending in failure, South Korea’s defence ministry said.
An official from South Korea’s defence ministry told AFP that the North fired an unidentified missile off its east coast shortly before 6am on Wednesday morning. The first test shortly before 6am local time was deemed to have failed. South Korea said it was unable to confirm the status of a second launch, about two hours later, from the same location on the east coast.
“The launch appears to have failed,” the official said, without elaborating. Both test were believed to be of an intermediate-range Musudan missile that is designed to reach US bases as far away as Guam, but is not known to have ever been tested successfully.
The US military also detected the missile launch, Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman from the US military’s Pacific Command, told Reuters. North Korea had previously carried out four failed Musudan tests in 2016, in a setback for a weapons programme that ultimately aspires to develop a proven nuclear strike capability against the US mainland.
Related: North Korea makes another failed attempt to launch ballistic missileRelated: North Korea makes another failed attempt to launch ballistic missile
Earlier, Japanese and South Korean media quoted military officials saying Pyongyang was readying another launch of its mid-range Musudan ballistic missile. UN resolutions ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology and in the hours before Wednesday’s launch efforts the Pentagon warned Pyongyang against pressing ahead with any missile test.
The North has made four previous failed attempts this year to test-fly the Musudan, which has an estimated range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres (1,550 to 2,500 miles). In a statement the South Korean defence ministry stressed that any such test was “a clear violation of UN resolutions”, while the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said it “cannot be tolerated”.
The lower range covers the whole of South Korea and Japan, while the upper range would include US military bases on Guam. The Musudan has an estimated range of anywhere between 2,500km and 4,000km (1,550 to 2,500 miles). The lower range covers the whole of South Korea and Japan, while the upper range would include US military bases on Guam.
UN resolutions ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, although it regularly fires short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast. Three failures in April were seen as an embarrassment for North Korea’s leadership, coming ahead of a rare ruling party congress that was meant to celebrate the country’s achievements.
Another attempt in May was also deemed to have failed.
Wednesday’s tests came with military tensions still running high following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch a month later that saw the UN security council impose its toughest sanctions to date on the North.
During the party congress in May the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, had personally extended an offer of military dialogue with the South.
The proposal was repeated several times by the North’s military, but Seoul dismissed all the overtures as insincere “posturing” given Kim’s vow at the same congress to push ahead with the country’s nuclear weapons programme.
In recent months, North Korea has claimed a series of technical breakthroughs in developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to targets across the continental United States.
The claimed achievements included miniaturising a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, developing a warhead that can withstand atmospheric re-entry and building a solid-fuel missile engine.
The North also hailed the successful test of an engine specifically designed for an ICBM that would “guarantee” an eventual nuclear strike on the US mainland.
Outside experts have treated a number of the claims with scepticism, while acknowledging that the North has made significant strides in upgrading its nuclear arsenal.
With Agence France-Presse