North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles After Earlier Test Fails
MEP: South Korea’s military announced that North Korea has launched two Musudan mid-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday that flew about 400 km (250 miles), in what appeared to be its most effective test yet, hours after another launch failed.
The first launch was considered to have failed, travelling about 150km (90 miles) before landing in the sea.
Commander Dave Benham, spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command said both missiles fired from the North Korean port city of Wonsan.
It was not immediately clear if the second Musudan launch, was considered a success or failure, or how the flight ended. However, the distance it covered was theoretically more than halfway towards the southwest coast of Japan’s main Honshu island.
Still, Japan’s military was on a higher alert on Tuesday, preparing to intercept “any flying objects that would hit or stray into Japanese territory or airspace,” Kyodo News reported.
The Musudan missile, first deployed in 2007, has an estimated range of 3,000-4,000km and North Korea is believed to be in possession of some 50 of the rockets, according to Seoul military.
North Korea, which is developing nuclear weapons, is banned by UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology.
North Korea has made at least four previous attempts this year to test this type of missile.
Both missiles were tracked over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, “where initial indications are they fell,” Benham said. Benham said the missile launches did not pose a threat to North America.
