After overseeing the launch of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on 23 June his country now has “the sure capability to attack in an overall and practical way the Americans in the Pacific operation theatre”, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The statement comes a day after South Korean and Japanese officials reported Pyongyang had launched what appeared to be two of its Musudan IRBMs (also known as Hwasong-10s) from the country’s east coast.
While one ended in failure, the second appears to have been Pyongyang’s most effective Musudan launch yet, with the missile flying about 400 km and reaching an altitude of about 1,000 km, according to South Korean sources. The Pentagon said both missiles came down in the Sea of Japan.
The first missile was launched at 0558 h local time on 22 June from a location near the east coast city of Wonsan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff were quoted as saying. It reportedly flew about 150 km before breaking up in mid-air. The second launch took place about two hours later at 0805 h local time.
It was not immediately known whether the second launch was considered a success or not, but nonetheless appeared to mark an improvement from Pyongyang’s four previous failed attempts in April and May. Seoul and Washington condemned the move as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying the tests were a “brazen and irresponsible act”.
According to the KCNA, however, the move was a success. “The ballistic missile took off a self-propelled launching ramp … [reaching] the maximum height of 1,413.6 km along the planned flight orbit … without affecting the security of surrounding countries in the slightest,” the agency stated.
The launch confirmed “the flying kinetic feature of a Korean-style ballistic missile with an updated system and its safety and control as well as the technical specifications of newly designed rocket structure and its dynamic system”, according to the KCNA.
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