North Korea missile test: Seoul calls Pyongyang's claim a cover-up
8:32 AM EDT, June 29, 2024
North Korea announced that it conducted a successful test of medium-range ballistic missiles carrying multiple warheads that are guided to separate targets. In response, Seoul stated that Pyongyang's statement is "a deception intended to cover up failure."
During the test conducted on Wednesday, the army "successfully executed the separation and guidance control test of individual maneuverable warheads," reported the regime's KCNA agency. The dispatch added that "the separated maneuverable warheads were correctly guided to three coordinated targets."
"The test aims to confirm MIRV capabilities," that is, the ballistic missile system that carries multiple warheads and then places each on a ballistic course to separate targets.
KCNA's statement cites military officials who noted that the enhancement of "MIRV capabilities is a very important technological task in the field of defense and the highest priority of the Central Committee" of the army, implying that it may also be the highest priority for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
South Korea denies Pyongyang's claims of a successful test
On Friday, June 28, the South Korean military released footage that, according to the military, shows a North Korean missile abnormally spinning at the beginning of its flight and then exploding. The film is intended to refute Pyongyang's claims of a successful test.
According to Reuters, the material recorded by a thermal imaging observation device involving South Korean military units shows the missile moving along an irregular flight path and going out of control, then disintegrating.
In a Friday statement, the South Korean military assessed that "instability during flight" led to the missile's explosion, calling North Korea's claims of success "a deception intended to cover up failure."
In April, Pyongyang reported that it had tested a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile of medium-range, which is part of the intensification of the arms race for the next generation of long-range missiles, difficult to trace and intercept.
