(RepublicanInformer.com)- North Korea’s claim to have fired a newly built intercontinental ballistic missile last week was refuted by South Korea on Tuesday, accusing the nation of shooting a less-powerful existing weapon and faking data following a previous unsuccessful launch.
North Korea announced last Thursday that it had fired a Hwasong-17 missile, its longest-range developmental ICBM, in its most powerful weapons test in years.
The launch was dubbed a “historic occasion” by state media, accompanied by a stylized Hollywood-style film of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un monitoring the event in sunglasses and a leather jacket.
But it was completely staged.
The South Korean Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that the missile fired by North Korea was not a Hwasong-17, but a Hwasong-15, an ICBM it had previously tested in 2017.
Both missiles can strike the United States. But the Hwasong-17 has a more extensive potential range, and its massive bulk implies it’s meant to carry several nuclear warheads to overcome missile defense systems, according to experts.
According to South Korean analysts, the supposed successful launch, witnessed by the leather-jacketed NOKO Dear Leader, never happened. The missile’s speed, combustion, and stage separation were comparable to the Hwasong-15 rather than the Hwasong-17.
According to the ministry’s assessment, the North Korean video was not filmed on the purported launch day, based on an examination of Kim’s shadow and weather conditions in the video.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, said that Tokyo’s view that North Korea had launched a new type of ICBM has remained unchanged. The missile, according to Matsuno, poses a more significant threat to Japan and the world community than other North Korean weapons.
The missile fired last Thursday, according to estimates, soared higher and longer than any other North Korean weapon tested thus far. According to some experts, North Korea may have loaded the Hwasong-15 with a significantly lower payload to let it fly further than its previous launch in 2017.
According to South Korean reports, the missile fired from North Korea’s capital region on March 16 burst shortly after liftoff, and many citizens of Pyongyang observed the mid-air detonation. According to the ministry study, North Korea quickly scrambled to launch a reliable ICBM that it could successfully launch to alleviate domestic concern and strengthen North Korean pride.
According to the report, North Korea tried to fool its adversaries into believing it possessed superior ICBM technology to solidify its image as a military force and leverage future world negotiations.
