N. Korean missile thought to have exploded in mid-air
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NORTH Korea yesterday tried and failed to test fire what appeared to be a medium-range Musudan missile on the birthday of founding leader Kim Il Sung, a high-profile misstep after Pyongyang claimed a series of breakthroughs in its nuclear weapons program.
The missile disappeared from surveillance radar a few seconds after launch and is believed to have exploded midair, said a South Korean intelligence official quoted by Yonhap news agency.
There had been widespread intelligence reports in recent days that North Korea was preparing for the first-ever flight test of its Musudan missile, which is believed to be capable of striking United States bases in the Pacific island of Guam.
The US and South Korean militaries both detected and tracked the test yesterday.
“We assess that the launch failed,” a US defense official said, adding that it was “presumably” a Musudan.
The April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung — the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-Un — is a major public holiday in North Korea.
Pyongyang has hailed a series of achievements in recent months, including miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile, developing a warhead that can withstand atmospheric re-entry, and building a solid-fuel missile engine.
Last week, it said it had successfully tested an engine designed for an intercontinental ballistic missile 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 North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs have both made significant strides.
If yesterday’s failure is confirmed as a Musudan test, it would fuel doubts about just how far North Korea has gone in developing a reliable nuclear delivery system.
“We are monitoring and continuing to assess the situation,” a US official said, calling on North Korea to “refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region.”
Anxiety has been high on the Korean Peninsula since Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a rocket launch a month later that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.
The UN Security Council responded with its toughest sanctions to date, angering North Korea, which has since made repeated threats of attacks targeting South Korea and the US.
Existing UN resolutions forbid the nation from the use of any ballistic missile-related technology.
However, it has defied the sanctions by test-firing nearly 20 short- or mid-range missiles off its east coast since early March, in a show of force against the South Korea-US joint army drill that kicked off in the same month.
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