North Korean missile blows up shortly after test launch, South says

[Boats]

North Korean missile blows up shortly after test launch, South says
By: CBS News & Associated Press: 03-15-22
Re: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-k...est-explosion/

Re: Video link: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ukrain...ssian-assault/

The U.S. and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in two recent launches, referring to the developmental Hwasong-17 missile, the North's biggest weapon, which it unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.

In the launches on Feb. 27 and March 5, the North Korean missiles flew medium-range distances, and experts have said North Korea could eventually perform a full-range ICBM test.

It wasn't clear if Wednesday's launch also involved a Hwasong-17 system. If it was an attempt for a full-range Hwasong-17 launch, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would likely have been at the launch site to observe it.

Earlier Wednesday, North Korea's state news agency released photos of a smiling Kim, clad in a long black leather coat, visiting a towering apartment complex under construction on the outskirts of Pyongyang. The news agency didn't say when Kim was there, but it typically reports on his public activities one or two days after they occur.

After its two previous launches, North Korea said it had tested cameras and other systems for a spy satellite and released what it said were photos taken from space during one of the two tests, but it didn't confirm what rocket or missile it launched.

Observers say North Korea aims to boost its ICBM capability while trying to place its first functioning spy satellite into orbit. Kim has vowed to acquire an improved ICBM and a spy satellite among an array of sophisticated weapons systems he says his country needs to cope with what he calls American hostility.

The Hwasong-17 could potentially fly up to 9,320 miles, far enough to strike anywhere in the U.S. and beyond. The 82-foot missile, which was shown again at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang last year, has yet to be test-launched.

The three ICBMs that North Korea tested in 2017 were the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15. Some analysts say developing a larger missile could mean the country is trying to arm its long-range weapons with multiple warheads to overcome missile defense systems.

If North Korea makes a new ICBM launch, it would be its highest-profile weapons tests since its third and last ICBM launch in November 2017.

North Korea may call its potential new ICBM test a rocket launch to place a reconnaissance satellite in space, not a weapons test. That could invite condemnation but likely no fresh U.N. sanctions, some analysts say, since Russia and China wield vetoes on the Security Council and would oppose it.

Other North Korean missiles tested this year were mostly shorter-range, nuclear-capable weapons that place South Korea and Japan, both key U.S. allies, within striking distance. In January alone, North Korea carried out seven rounds of missile tests, a record number of monthly tests since Kim took power in late 2011.

U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program collapsed in 2019 due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. Washington has urged North Korea to return to talks without any preconditions, but the North has rejected such overtures, saying the United States must first withdraw its hostile policies.

In January, North Korea hinted at lifting its 4-year moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Friday it detected signs that North Korea likely is restoring some of the tunnels at its nuclear testing site that it detonated ahead of the now-dormant nuclear diplomacy.
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Personal note: The little Fat Man is at it again. He's not been in the news of
late as I posted earlier. It seems the Cold War is back in ops again. I give
this world of ours another decade and then there won't be much left of it
after that. The nuclear weapons will be the death of us all - in the very
near future - if we make it that far down the road.
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