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.
The missile was fired from North Korean territory around 5:30 a.m. and South Korean and US intelligence services have since been conducting a detailed analysis of the launch, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
According to an official within the JCS, Pyongyang appears to have conducted a test firing of a hypersonic missile, but the test appears to have ultimately failed after a flight of around 250 kilometers ended with an explosion.
An unusual amount of smoke appeared to be coming from the craft, the JCS official reported, 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 recently increasing the number of balloons loaded with garbage 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. to 4:43 a.m.”. The airport has since been operating normally, according to the same official.
Pyongyang has already sent more than a thousand balloons carrying waste to the South, which it presents as retaliation for sending balloons carrying propaganda by South Korean activists opposed to Pyongyang’s number one, Kim Jong- A.
In response, Seoul has completely suspended a military agreement aimed at reducing tensions and restarted some propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along the border.
Military exercises
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister and top government spokeswoman, Kim Yo Jong, warned South Korea earlier this month that if leaflet drops and loudspeaker broadcasts continued, Seoul “would undoubtedly witness a new counter-offensive” from North Korea.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a US aircraft carrier that arrived in his country for joint military exercises.
These exercises, in which Japan is also taking part, are scheduled to begin later in June.
Pyongyang considers exercises of this type to be rehearsals for an invasion.