North Korea missile explodes on launch

SEOUL — A North Korean missile exploded during launch on Sunday, US and South Korean officials said, a high-profile failure that comes as a powerful US aircraft supercarrier approaches the Korean Peninsula in a show of force.

It was not immediately clear what kind of missile was test-fired from the east coast city of Sinpo.

But the failure will sting in Pyongyang because it comes a day after one of the biggest North Korean propaganda events of the year—celebrations of the 105th birthday of late North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, the current leader’s grandfather.

The North’s test firing can be seen as a message of defiance to the Trump administration in Washington, coming as it did on the day US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Seoul for talks on North Korea as part of his 10-day trip to Asia.

Pence said North Korea’s “provocation” was another reminder of the risks that US and South Korean service members faced every day “in the defense of the freedom of the people of South Korea and the defense of America in this part of the world.”

At a fellowship dinner at US Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, Pence said that the willingness of military members “to stand firm without fear [inspired] the nation and [inspired] the world.”

US President Donald Trump was uncharacteristically quiet about the failed launch.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Trump and his military team were “aware of North Korea’s most recent unsuccessful missile launch. The president has no further comment.”

The failure, which is likely to be seen as a public embarrassment for the regime, came amid soaring tensions in the region over the North’s nuclear weapons ambitions.

“The missile blew up almost immediately,” the US Defense Department said of the early morning launch, which was also detected by the South Korean military.

Missiles

Washington and Seoul will try hard to figure out what exactly North Korea fired.

This matters because while North Korea regularly launches short-range missiles, it is also developing mid-range and long-range missiles meant to target US troops in Asia and, eventually, the US mainland.

It came after North Korea displayed nearly 60 missiles—including what is suspected to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile—at the Saturday parade.

The ultimate goal is to have a full array of nuclear-tipped missiles in response to what Pyongyang said was hostility by Washington and Seoul meant to topple its government.

North Korea is thought to have a small arsenal of atomic bombs and an impressive array of short- and medium-range missiles.

Many outside analysts believed that North Korea had not yet mastered the technology to build warheads small enough to place on long-range missiles, though some civilian experts said it could already build nuclear-tipped shorter range missiles that have South Korea and Japan within its striking range.

South Korea’s defense ministry said it was analyzing exactly how the North Korean launch failed.

High animosity

In Seoul, South Korea’s presidential office convened a national security council meeting to examine security postures.

High animosity has risen on the Korean Peninsula in recent months, as the United States and South Korea conduct its annual war games which North Korea claimed were preparations for an invasion.

A US aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, is headed to waters off Korea in a show of force.

Analysts warned that even failed missile launches could provide valuable knowledge to North Korea as it tried to build its weapons program.

The country launched a long-range rocket and conducted two nuclear tests last year, including its most powerful to date.

Aside from improving the technology, North Korean missile and nuclear tests are seen by outside analysts partly as efforts to bolster the domestic image of leader Kim Jong-un and apply political pressure on Seoul and Washington.

Kim Jong-un has overseen three nuclear tests and a string of missile and rocket launches since taking over after the death of his father, dictator Kim Jong il, in late 2011.

Another missile test from Sinpo failed earlier this month, when the rocket spun out of control and plunged into the ocean.

That launch came shortly before Trump’s first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China is North Korea’s only major ally.

The extended-range Scud missile in that earlier launch suffered an inflight failure and fell into the sea off North Korea’s east coast, according to US imagery and assessments.

Despite Sunday’s failure, the North’s previous claim to have used “standardized” warheads has led to worries that it was making headway in its push to develop small and sophisticated warheads to be topped on long-range missiles.

Washington sees North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles as a threat to world security and to its Asian allies, Japan and South Korea.

The United States, South Korea and other countries have vowed to apply more pressure on the North, but so far nothing has worked to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.

Provocation

“It is likely that this launch is a test for a new type of missile or an upgrade so the possibility is high for further provocation in the near future,” Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, said.

In August last year, a submarine-launched ballistic missile tested from Sinpo flew 500 kilometers (300 miles) towards Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hailed that test as its “greatest success” and said it brought the US mainland within range of a mobile delivery system.

Pyongyang’s rogue atomic ambitions have come into sharp focus in recent weeks, with Trump vowing a tough stance against the North and threatening unilateral action if China failed to help curb its neighbor’s nuclear program.

With speculation mounting that the North is preparing to conduct a sixth nuclear test, he sent an aircraft carrier-led strike group to the Korean peninsula—a pointed gesture in the wake of the recent US missile strike on Syria.

But the defiant regime has reiterated it was ready for war with the United States, and its army vowed a “merciless” response to any US provocation.

Recent satellite images suggested that the North’s main nuclear site was “primed and ready,” according to specialist US website 38North, and White House officials said military options are “already being assessed.”

China, the North’s sole major ally, and Russia have both urged restraint, with Beijing’s foreign minister Wang Yi warning that “conflict could break out at any moment.”

The UN Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions against the North since its first nuclear test in 2006 — all of which have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons. —REPORTS FROM AP AND AFP