North Korea botches yet another missile test

The South Korean military authorities announced that North Korea appears to have botched the launch of a Musudan Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) in Wonsan, Gangwon Province, on Thursday. The North had hinted at the fifth nuclear test before the opening of the 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party, which falls on May 6. The North also fired the Musudan missiles in the same location on April 15, or the Day of the Sun (Founder of North Korea Kim Il sung’s birthday), but the projectiles exploded mid-air a few seconds after launch.

According to the military authorities, a Musudan missile was fired on a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) into the East Sea in Wonsan, Gangwon Province at around 6:40 a.m. on Thursday. The military said that the missile fell after flying a few seconds in an abnormal trajectory. “It was not a mid-air explosion, but the projectile fell after flying several hundred meters,” said an official from the military authorities, suggesting that the North pressed ahead with the launch to make up for the botched launch on April 15.

A possibility pointing to a critical defect is being raised after a series of failed missiles launches in North Korea. “A vulnerability of the Musudan missile has been exposed, which is an enhanced version of the R-27 missiles of the Soviet Union only with improved propellant and engine,” said a military official.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lost face again before the opening of the 7th party congress.