SEOUL: An explosion almost immediately after launch was behind the failure of North Korea’s latest test-firing of a powerful medium-range missile, the South Korean military confirmed Monday.
“North Korea’s missile launch failed shortly after lift-off so a considerable amount of time was needed to analyse it,” a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official told reporters Monday.
A defence ministry spokesman confirmed the missile exploded soon after lift-off, in the very initial stage of the launch.
First unveiled as an indigenous missile at a military parade in Pyongyang in October 2010, the Musudan has a theoretical range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres (1,500 and 2,500 miles).
After a string of five failed launches, North Korea test fired a Musudan in June. Saturday’s test weas the first since then.
