N.Korea missile test fails on founder's birthday

By Jun Ji-hye

North Korea attempted to fire what is presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) early Friday from its east coast, but the launch appears to have failed, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

It was the authoritarian state’s first test launch of a Musudan missile, thought to have a range of some 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers, far enough to reach Guam, home to U.S. naval and air bases.

“North Korea tried to launch a missile from the East Sea area at about 5:30 a.m., but it is presumed to have failed,” the JCS said.

Military authorities in South Korea and the United States refused to clarify what kind of missile was launched, but sources noted it was thought to be the Musudan, also known as the BM-25.

The latest launch was on the 104th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung ― the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang has marked the national holiday in the past with elaborate military events.

A few seconds after it was fired from the launcher, the missile deviated from its “normal” trajectory, the JCS said, noting that South Korea and the U.S. concluded the launch had failed after a joint assessment.

It is presumed the missile exploded during its booster phase before fixing its angle and entering orbit.

On April 13, CNN reported that U.S. intelligence satellites had spotted signs the North might be preparing for the unprecedented launch of a mobile ballistic missile, which could potentially hit parts of the U.S.

Quoting two U.S. officials, CNN said: “If the regime proceeds with a launch, the latest assessments are the most likely scenario is the launch of the so-called Musudan missile.”

In previous weeks, the South Korean military detected the repressive state deploying two Musudan missiles near the east coast city of Wonsan for a potential launch.

The military is preparing for the possibility the North could carry out additional provocations at any time, officials said.

A series of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions prohibit North Korea from launching ballistic missiles.

But the repressive state has continued to take provocative actions even after the UNSC adopted a harsher sanctions resolution against the regime in early March, in response to its fourth nuclear test in January and the long-range rocket launch in February.

Since the new resolution, the North has protested with the firing of short and mid-range missiles and its new 300-millimeter multiple-rocket launcher, heightening military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

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