The latest North Korean missile test failed on Wednesday, with the rocket exploding “within seconds of launch,” according to the U.S. Pacific Command.
“South Korea and the US are aware of the missile launch and to their knowledge, North Korea’s missile was not successfully launched,” said South Korea’s Ministry of Defense about the North Korean missile test, in a statement relayed by CNN.
Reuters reports the launch was made from “near the city of Wonsan, on North Korea’s east coast, the same place from where it launched several intermediate-range missiles last year, all but one of which failed.”
A South Korean military official agreed with the U.S. assessment that the missile “may have exploded right after it took off from a launch pad.”
The Washington Post writes that American and South Korean military intelligence services are still analyzing the data they gathered about the launch and are not yet certain precisely what type of missile it was. North Korea tested a rocket engine that dictator Kim Jong-un described as technology of “historic significance” over the weekend, but it’s not clear if this failed test involved one of those engines.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.