Twice the Range from Wonsan to East Sea... A New Missile?

[Anchor]

Following the launch on the 6th, North Korea fired a 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, the range more than doubled, leading authorities to suspect it was a test of a new missile.

Here is defense specialist reporter Kim Taehun.

[Reporter]

South Korea's military has assessed that a single ballistic missile fired by North Korea from the Wonsan area in Gangwon Province toward the East Sea at around 6:00 a.m. today (the 12th) flew over 700 kilometers.

North Korea also launched a ballistic missile from Wonsan toward the East Sea on the 6th, which was known to have a flight distance of approximately 300 kilometers.

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

The official added, "It is possible that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended and 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, and the failure rate of the launch would be remarkably low. However, on both the 6th and today, exactly one missile was fired each time, and one of those attempts failed.

Furthermore, Kim Jong-un rarely attended past short-range missile launches.

Taking these factors into account—firing one missile at a time from the same place in the same direction, resulting in one failure, alongside the possibility of Kim Jong-un's attendance—the South Korean military believes North Korea may have test-fired a new type of missile.

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

It is also possible that North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which typically has a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers, with its range reduced for testing.

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

While North Korea did not report on the launch from the 6th, today's launch was successful, and Pyongyang is expected to carry a report on it tomorrow.

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