SEOUL.- A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in mid-flight on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, as Pyongyang protested against the regional deployment of a US aircraft carrier for military exercises with South Korea and Japan.
Later on Wednesday, South Korea held live ammunition military exercises along its disputed western maritime dividing line with North Korea, the first since early June, when it suspended a 2018 agreement with its neighbor. of the North, whose objective was to reduce military tensions on the front.
The North Korean missile was launched around 5:30 a.m. and was traveling off the east coast of North Korea before exploding, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Fragments of the missile were scattered in the water up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the launch site, near the North Korean capital, the agency said. So far, no damage has been reported.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they believed the weapon was a solid-fuel hypersonic missile. The launch generated more smoke than normal launches, possibly due to engine failure, the agency told reporters.
In a three-way phone call, senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan condemned the missile launch, calling it a violation of U.N. resolutions, and agreed to maintain close coordination with North Korea, according to with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Seoul.
North Korea has conducted a series of hypersonic missile tests since 2021, in an evident effort to acquire the ability to penetrate its rival’s anti-missile shields. Foreign experts question whether the missiles have achieved the desired speed and maneuverability in test flights. In recent years, North Korea has also developed more missiles that use solid fuels. The launch of such missiles is more difficult to detect than those that use liquid fuels, which must be refueled before takeoff.
Wednesday’s missile test comes as the two Koreas are engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare using balloons and loudspeaker broadcasts.
Late Wednesday, South Korea said its northern neighbor had launched balloons, likely carrying trash, across the border for the third day in a row. Previous launches had dropped dung, cigarette butts, useless batteries, rags and papers on South Korea.
Source: With information from AP
