North Korea Fires 'Twice the Range' Missile From Wonsan Into East Sea: New Weapon?

[Anchor]

Following its launch on the 6th, North Korea fired another ballistic missile from Wonsan toward the East Sea today (the 12th). Although it was fired from the same location and in the same direction as the previous launch, its range more than doubled, leading authorities to presume it was a test of a new missile.

For more, let's turn to defense specialist reporter Kim Taehun.

[Reporter]

South Korea's military assesses that a single ballistic missile fired by North Korea from the Wonsan area in Gangwon Province toward the East Sea at around 6 a.m. today flew more than 700 kilometers.

North Korea also fired a ballistic missile from Wonsan on the 6th, which was reported to have a flight distance of approximately 300 kilometers.

A South Korean military official told SBS, "The missile fired on the 6th had an abnormal flight, whereas today's missile flew normally."

The official added, "It is likely that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed today's launch site in Wonsan."

If it were an existing solid-fuel short-range ballistic missile, it would likely have been fired in pairs or more, with a significantly lower probability of failure. In contrast, exactly one missile was fired on both the 6th and today, with one of those attempts failing.

Furthermore, Kim Jong-un has rarely attended past launches of existing short-range missiles.

Combining factors such as firing single missiles from the same location in the same direction—resulting in one failure—and the possibility of Kim's attendance, the South Korean military suspects that North Korea may have test-fired a new type of missile.

[Interview: Kim Dae-young, Research Fellow at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy]
"It could be an extended-range version of the KN-23 intended for export to Russia, or alternatively, a missile equipped with a hypersonic propulsion system different from existing missiles."

It is also possible that North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers by shortening its range.

If it is an improved short-range variant, it targets South Korea and U.S. military bases in the country. If it is a new hypersonic or intermediate-range missile, Japan and U.S. bases in Japan would also fall within its striking range.

While North Korea did not report on the launch conducted on the 6th, today's launch is expected to be covered in state media tomorrow given its apparent success.

(Camera: Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing: Sunghoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.