North Korea conducted a test firing of what appears to be a hypersonic missile early Wednesday, a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, adding that the launch ended with an explosion in flight.
This shot came just hours after Pyongyang sent new balloons loaded with waste to South Korea which led to the suspension of departures and arrivals at Incheon airport, near Seoul.
A detailed analysis in progress
The missile was fired from North Korean territory around 5:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. GMT Tuesday) and South Korean and U.S. intelligence services have since been conducting a detailed analysis of the launch, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. a statement.
According to an official within the JCS, Pyongyang appears to have conducted a test firing of a hypersonic missile, but the test ultimately failed after a flight of around 250 km ended with an explosion.
An unusual amount of smoke appeared to be coming from the craft, the JCS official added, raising the possibility of combustion problems. According to this same source, the missile could have been propelled by solid fuel. Japan also confirmed the launch and its coast guard said the missile ultimately crashed into the Sea of Japan.
The previous North Korean missile launch dates back to May 30, when Seoul accused Pyongyang of having fired a salvo of around ten short-range ballistic missiles.
Analysts suggest North Korea is ramping up missile production to supply Russia as part of its war in Ukraine, a report released last month by the Pentagon confirmed.
Wednesday’s launch comes amid heightened cross-border tensions, with North Korea having recently increased the number of balloons loaded with rubbish into South Korean territory.
New balloons from the North
On Monday and Tuesday, Pyongyang once again sent hundreds of balloons weighted with trash across the inter-Korean border. According to a South Korean military analysis, the balloons carried “mainly paper waste” which posed no risk to the population.
One of the North Korean aerostats from this latest shipment fell at a boarding gate at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, a flight management official told AFP. ‘infrastructure.
According to the same source, domestic and international arrivals and departures “were suspended for more than three hours from 1:46 a.m. (4:46 p.m. GMT) to 4:43 a.m.”. The airport has since been operating normally, according to the same official.
VideoNorth Korea sends nearly 150 trash-filled balloons to South Korea
Pyongyang has already sent more than a thousand balloons carrying waste to the South, which it presents as retaliation for shipments of balloons carrying propaganda by South Korean activists opposed to Pyongyang’s number one, Kim Jong Un In response, Seoul completely suspended a 2018 military agreement aimed at reducing tensions, and restarted some propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along the border.
Military exercises
South Korea’s navy resumed live-fire exercises near the maritime border with North Korea on Wednesday. These are the first exercises of this type since Seoul suspended the military agreement aimed at reducing tensions with the North. As part of these exercises, “around 290” shells were fired at “reconstructed enemy targets,” the South Korean navy said in a statement.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister and top government spokeswoman, Kim Yo Jong, warned South Korea earlier this month that if the leaflet drops and loudspeaker broadcasts continued, Seoul would ” would undoubtedly witness a new counter-offensive” by North Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday visited a U.S. aircraft carrier arriving in his country for joint military exercises scheduled to begin later in June in which Japan will also take part.
