A hypersonic missile launched by the Kim Jong-un regime exploded in mid-flight this Wednesday, according to the army of South Koreadays after Pyongyang protested the recent regional deployment of a US aircraft carrier for new trilateral military exercises between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
He Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea explained in a statement that the North launched a ballistic missile from the capital region at around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, heading toward the country’s eastern waters, but the launch ended in failure.
Later, the General Staff explained to reporters that the missile exploded in mid-flight over the waters of the city of Wonsan, on the east coast of North Korea. The fragments of the projectile were scattered across the sea, up to 250 kilometers from the launch site. No damage was reported.
The General Staff suspects that it is a solid fuel hypersonic missile and pointed out that this Wednesday’s launch produced more smoke than normal due to a possible error in the engine. The test could seek to improve the capability of a hypersonic weapons system, he added.
For his part, the indo-pacific command The United States condemned Pyongyang’s launch, although it did not pose an immediate threat to the US territory or its allies.
Washington’s commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan “remain ironclad,” he added.
Since 2021, the North has carried out a series of tests with hypersonic missiles in an apparent attempt to overcome the anti-missile shields of its rivals. But foreign experts question whether the secretive nation’s hypersonic vehicles have demonstrated the desired speed and maneuverability during tests.
Furthermore, in recent years, Pyongyang has tried to develop more weapons with solid fuel, which complicate detection compared to those with liquid propellant, which must be refueled before takeoff.
The North’s test coincides with the psychological campaigns of recent weeks in the Koreas in the style of the Cold Warwith balloon launches and public address broadcasts.
On Tuesday night, Seoul said Pyongyang launched huge balloons with garbage across the border for the second day in a row. South Korean media reported Wednesday that around 1,000 people had arrived in the country. 100 North Korean balloons with waste bags.
Since late May, the North has launched a series of garbage balloon launches toward its neighbor in what it calls a response to South Korean activists who launch political leaflets using the same method.
On June 9, the South briefly resumed broadcasting propaganda from its border loudspeakers for the first time in years in response.
The South Korean military indicated on Monday that it was prepared to activate the public address system again.
(AP)
