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Reuters

North Korea fired an “unknown projectile” on Wednesday which appeared to fail immediately after launch, South Korea’s military said, amid reports that the nuclear-armed country is seeking to test-fire its largest missile yet.
The United States and South Korea have warned that North Korea may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017.
The projectile was fired from Sunan airport outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
“It is presumed that it failed immediately after launch,” the statement said. The projectile seemed to explode in mid-air soon after lift-off, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
A South Korean military official said the projectile reached an altitude of 20km.
South Korea president-elect to sternly deal with North Korea, reset China ties
The US military’s Indo-Pacific Command called it a “ballistic missile launch.” The command did not mention the reported failure, but condemned the test and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further destabilising acts.
A source at Japan’s Ministry of Defence also called the projectile a potential ballistic missile, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Debris fell in or near Pyongyang after the failed test, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing unnamed witnesses and a photograph of the test showing a red-tinted ball of smoke at the end of a zigzagging rocket launch trail in the sky above the city.
“The report of a failure from Sunan is concerning because of the possibility of damage to heavily populated civilian areas,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from another location failed soon after lift-off and crashed into an industrial or agriculture complex in the city of Tokchon.


The Sunan airport has been the site of several recent launches, including on February 27 and March 5. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite and did not identify what rocket it used, but Seoul and Washington said they were tests of a new ICBM system.
Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea and Japan.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defence artillery at Osan airbase in South Korea intensified drills in response to the increased North Korean missile activity, US forces in Asia said on Tuesday.
The new ICBM system, the Hwasong-17, was unveiled at a military parade in 2020 and reappeared at a defence exhibition in October 2021.
South Koreans worry Ukraine crisis will slow North Korean denuclearisation
The February 27 and March 5 launches did not demonstrate the missile’s full range, and analysts said the North might have used only one stage of the missile or adjusted its fuel volume to fly at lower altitudes.
The Hwasong-17 would be North Korea’s largest ICBM yet, and the government appears to be restoring some tunnels at its closed nuclear test site, US and South Korean officials said last week.
North Korea has not tested an ICBM or nuclear bomb since 2017, but has said that it could resume such testing because denuclearisation talks with the US are stalled.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi discussed North Korea in Rome on Monday during talks that focused on Ukraine.

A senior US official said the two discussed ensuring there would soon be follow-up talks to earlier discussions between US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Xiaoming, on ways to press Pyongyang to drop its nuclear weapons programme.
The official said Washington had “serious concerns about the recent escalatory actions” by North Korea and Sullivan made clear to Yang the steps the US believed to be necessary.
Last week, the US and 10 other countries bemoaned the failure of the United Nations Security Council – where China has veto power – to condemn North Korea’s repeated missile launches, saying this eroded the credibility of the council and the global non-proliferation regime.

Washington imposed fresh North Korea-related sanctions on Friday, targeting Russian individuals and companies after the two recent launches.
Past US punitive steps and international sanctions at the UN have failed to arrest North Korea’s weapons development.
Russia and China, which backed UN sanctions after North Korea’s last ICBM and nuclear tests in 2017, have since argued that sanctions should be eased to encourage dialogue.


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North Korea

North Korea suspected missile explodes in mid-air after launch

South Koreans watch a TV broadcast showing a North Korean missile launch in February. Photo: Yonhap via Reuters

Planes parked on the tarmac of Sunan airport in Pyongyang. File photo: AP

North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles on display during a 2020 military parade in Pyongyang. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP

North Korea reactivating closed nuclear test site, satellite images suggest

A satellite image of North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site taken in 2017. Photo: CNES / Airbus Defense and Space / 38 North Handout via AFP

A North Korean soldier stands guard at the entrance to a tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility in 2018. Photo: News1 / Dong-a Ilbo via AFP

A demolition ‘ceremony’ at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test facility in 2018. Photo: Korean Central News Agency via KNS/AFP

US troops in South Korea step up missile defence drills amid North Korea test signs

A test launch of a hypersonic missile. File photo: via AP

News

Asia

East Asia


South Korea’s military said the projectile, fired from Sunan airport outside Pyongyang, failed immediately after launch
North Korea has conducted nine missile tests so far this year



South Korea’s military said the projectile, fired from Sunan airport outside Pyongyang, failed immediately after launch.


North Korea nuclear crisis

South Korea

Korean peninsula

North Korea suspected missile explodes in mid-air after launch

South Korea’s military said the projectile, fired from Sunan airport outside Pyongyang, failed immediately after launch North Korea has conducted nine missile tests so far this year

South Korea’s military said the projectile, fired from Sunan airport outside Pyongyang, failed immediately after launch

North Korea has conducted nine missile tests so far this year