The 400 kilometer range, meanwhile, shouldn’t deceive you; North Korea likely intended for the missile to fly at a steeper angle than would be ideal for it to reach its maximum range of 3,500 kilometers.
Advertisement
Early on Thursday, North Korea reported that the test-firing, attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was successful.
Markus Schiller, a German aerospace engineer who has written extensively on North Korea’s missile program, said a lot of information on the Musudan was highly speculative and warned against drawing too many conclusions from Wednesday’s launches.
Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the launch was an indication that North Korea’s threat to Japan was intensifying.
Pyongyang earlier this year conducted a nuclear test, its fourth, and launched a long-range rocket that outsiders say was a cover for a test of banned missile technology.
A statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected first Musudan launch from the east coast city of Wonsan failed.
The KCNA said the missile flew out of the atmosphere as it soared to an altitude of 1,413.6 kilometers before successfully re-entering the atmosphere and landing in the targeted waters about 400 kilometers away from the launching site.
Although the missile fell far short of its estimated full range of more than 2,000 miles – far enough to reach USA military bases in the Pacific – the test is the first for the Musudan that was not immediately dismissed as a failure by the United States or South Korea.
In April, the DPRK attempted unsuccessfully to launch three suspected Musudan missiles, but all exploded midair or crashed, according to South Korean defense officials. He also said council members recognized the launches are a violation of United Nations resolutions.
Mr Kim was speaking after twin tests on Wednesday, believed to be of the mid-range Musudan missile. Some 28,500 USA servicemembers are stationed on the peninsula.
About two hours later, North Korea fired the second missile at 8:05 a.m. local time, according to the spokesperson.
North Korea wants to develop its missiles, because it’s a way of delivering nuclear weapons, he said.
Pyongyang’s sole major ally, Beijing, has backed sanctions against it and repeatedly called for the reactivation of the six-party forum since the North reactivated its nuclear programme in January.
Following North Korea’s latest action, the Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday in NY. However, North Korea’s continued work on its missile program may one day enable it to hit the continental United States, as its arsenal continues to expand in size and range. South Korea does not have any ballistic missile defenses against a submarine-launch ballistic missile.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted by national broadcaster NHK as saying such tests “cannot be tolerated”.
Much of whether the second missile launch could be considered a success depends on exactly what North Korea was trying to demonstrate-other than the fact that the regime was willing to continue to provoke its neighbors and the United States.
For Kim Jong Un, a final, apparently successful launch of a missile that could be a real threat to his enemies may ease the pain of all the previous failures, especially since most of his people were unaware of them.
Recently claimed achievements include the creation of a solid-fuel missile engine, the development of a nuclear warhead capable of withstanding atmospheric re-entry, and the miniaturisation of a nuclear warhead.
Earlier on Monday, the South Korean, Japanese and U.S. militaries detected two missiles fired from North Korea’s eastern coast.
Advertisement
The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
