SEOUL — North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile, but the test failed as the projectile exploded shortly after liftoff, said South Korea and the United States yesterday.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the military believes the North unsuccessfully attempted to fire a mid-range Musudan missile. It said the failed launch was carries out near an airport in the North’s North Pyongan Province.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said that the missile was believed to have exploded soon after liftoff. Yonhap cited no source for the information.
South Korea strongly condemns the launch because it violates United Nations Security Council resolutions that bans any ballistic activities by North Korea, said the statement. The US military first reported the launch was attempted at 12.03pm on Saturday local time and that the missile did not pose a threat to North America. The launch evoked harsh criticism from the US.
“We strongly condemn this and North Korea’s other recent missile tests, which violate UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea’s launches using ballistic missile technology,’’ said Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman.
He said the US would raise concerns at the UN.
“Our commitment to the defence of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, is ironclad. We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation.”
Japan has expressed concern over the launches, and Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said yesterday that she wants to work in cooperation with the US and South Korea to assure her country’s security.
The test was the first involving the Hwasong-10, also known as the Musudan, since North Korea successfully launched the same missile in June. North Korea has had a spotty record with Hwasong-10 test flights.
The June launch was the first successful test after five failures.
The projectile flew about 400km over the sea between North Korea and Japan, reaching an altitude of 1,400km.
Defence officials from the US and its allies in the region said the missile’s launch at a sharp angle prevented it from falling too close to Japan but still demonstrated its potential to reach an estimated range of more than 3,000km.
The Hwasong-10 is the North’s only tested missile with a range long enough to reach US military bases in Guam in the Pacific, and in South Korea and Japan.
After the June test, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boasted that his country had the capability to strike those bases. But the failure on Saturday indicated that North Korea had yet to perfect its Hwasong-10 system.
The Hwasong-10 is a road-mobile missile, so it can be moved around the country and hidden in tunnels.
North Korea has vowed to build a ballistic missile capable of striking the continental US with a nuclear warhead.
The North has never conducted a test flight for such a long-range missile. It conducted its fifth underground nuclear test on Sept 9 and in all has launched more than 20 ballistic missiles this year, part of its programme aimed at improving the delivery system for nuclear weapons. AGENCIES