JCS: Failure of N. Korea’s Claimed Multiple Warhead Missile Launch Clearly Detected

The South Korean military said it had tracked North Korea’s claimed successful multiple warhead missile launch earlier this week from before its firing and subsequently detected the launch’s failure.

According to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) on Friday, the missile firing, which occurred at around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, was detected by anti-intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) surveillance radar and ground-based surveillance platforms.

Video footage recorded via thermal observation device(TOD) at frontline units showed abnormal fuselage rotation during ascent, before exploding in midair.

Attributing the missile’s explosion to instabilities during flight, the South Korean military dismissed the North’s claim of testing a missile corresponding to multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles(MIRV) as an “exaggeration to cover up the failure.”

The South’s military said it plans to continue monitoring for a potential follow-up, speculating that Pyongyang may attempt to relaunch the missile in the future.