Seoul: North Korean missile exploded in air in failed launch

Source: Associated Press

Seoul: North Korean missile exploded in air in failed launch

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
March 16, 2022

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded soon after its liftoff in an apparent failed weapons launch on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, amid speculation that the North has been preparing to launch its longest-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

Details of the missile explosion weren’t immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks.

The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of less than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasn’t publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue. He said the cause of the explosion wasn’t known.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said in a statement that the launch made from the Pyongyang region around 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) apparently failed.

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