North Korean ICBM Launched Believed to Have Been A Failure
According to the article this failed ICBM launch was intended to fly over Japan. This is one of my concerns that a failed missile launch ends up impacting in Japan, what could the response to such an incident lead to?:
North Korea continued its saber-rattling for the second day straight, Thursday, by firing at least six missiles, but its military show of force ended up being compromised after the launch of the country’s largest and most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) failed while in flight.
Korea Times
The unsuccessful ICBM launch may cause further delays to the possible next nuclear test by the North, which is believed to have been fully prepared for it since May, as it is still short of putting the United States on high alert or gaining its attention, according to diplomatic observers.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), North Korea launched what was presumed to be an ICBM from the Sunan area of Pyongyang at 7:40 a.m., then two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from Kaechon in South Pyongan Province at 8:39 a.m. The JCS also said that it detected three SRBMs between 9:35 p.m. and 9:49 p.m. traveling toward the East Sea from Koksan County in North Hwanghae Province.
As for the ICBM, the JCS did not specify what type of missile North Korea had prepared, but it was presumed to be the Hwasong-17, which analysts say may be capable of carrying multiple warheads and traveling up to 15,000 kilometers, far enough to strike anywhere in the U.S. The missile was first unveiled in October 2020.
The ICBM flew about 760 kilometers at an apogee of around 1,920 kilometers and a top speed of Mach 15, but something seemed to have gone wrong following second-stage separation, the JCS added.
You can read more at the link, but the failure means that the North Koreans will likely have to do another ICBM launch in the near term.
