China confirms new generation long range missiles: report
'Accidental' leak acknowledging long-range missile comes in a report on website of an official environmental monitoring centre
China has acknowledged the existence of a new intercontinental ballistic missile said to be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads as far as the United States, state-run media reported yesterday.
In what seems like an accidental leak, a government environmental monitoring centre in Shaanxi said in a working progress summary on its website that between June 9 and 13, the centre would complete an environmental protection check of a military facility in the province responsible for developing Dongfeng-41 (DF-41) missiles. The leak was quickly picked up by the state-run Global Times on its website.
However, later in the day, the report was deleted from all Chinese news websites, including the Global Times, and the website of the environmental monitoring centre was shut down.
The defence ministry couldn't be reached for comment.
Ni Lexiong , a Shanghai-based military affairs commentator, said this could either be a leak of top military secrets or a way to communicate China's military strength without fully revealing its capability.
The centre declined to comment on Friday.