North Korea appears to be readying another test of a powerful, new medium-range missile, following a series of failures for a ballistic weapons programme that aspires to threaten the US mainland, mult
North Korea appears to be readying another test of a powerful, new medium-range missile, following a series of failures for a ballistic weapons programme that aspires to threaten the US mainland, multiple reports said Tuesday.
Japanese and South Korean media quoted official sources as saying North Korea looked to have deployed a so-called Musudan missile near its east coast.
The North has made four failed attempts in 2016 to test fly the Musudan, which has an estimated range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres.
The lower range covers the whole of South Korea and Japan, while the upper range would include US military bases on Guam.
“We have detected signs that the North has deployed what appears to be a Musudan missile,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying.
Japan’s Kyodo News agency and public broadcaster NHK both cited unidentified sources as saying preparations for a missile launch might be underway.
The defence ministry in Seoul declined to confirm the reports, but said it was “closely monitoring the situation.” UN resolutions ban North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, although it regularly fires short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast.
