North Korea fired another missile on Thursday, November 3, however, this was no ordinary missile. It was a potent long-range ballistic missile that eventually did not succeed, according to a report by CNN.
On Wednesday, the country fired a record 23 missiles at once, possibly in protest of the ongoing military drills between South Korea and the United States. But those tests only used short-range missiles, while on Thursday, a more powerful vehicle took off.
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
According to a source from the South Korean government, the Hwasong-17 is North Korea's most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity with CNN, said that the test failed.
The Pentagon revealed in a statement that Washington and Seoul decided to continue their military drills until Saturday hours after the alleged failed test.
The South Korean Air Force on Thursday also said that the two nations will extend the "Vigilant Storm" military training exercises without providing a deadline, claiming that it was necessary to show off a strong combined defense posture of the bilateral alliance in light of the ongoing "security crisis".
According to the US Defense Department, the combined exercises, known as "Vigilant Storm," started on Monday and involved 240 aircraft and thousands of service members from both nations.
Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, said that the extension of the drills was a "very dangerous and false choice" made by North Korea on Thursday after the ICBM launch was reported to have failed.
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New Benchmark for North Korea
With the highest altitude and longest duration of any North Korean missile test ever, that launch set a new benchmark for the country.
According to a report from the Korean Central News Agency at the time, the missile traveled 1,090 kilometers (681 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 kilometers (3,905 miles). It also stated that the flight lasted for 68 minutes.
The North Korean government claimed that the ICBM performed flawlessly during its initial test flight in March. Space.com noted that Western analysts were not so convinced about that claim; some believe that North Korea covered up the earlier mission's failure by launching a different missile, the Hwasong-15, later on.
The barrage of launches from North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday continue a pattern. According to NBC News, more than 50 missiles have already been launched by the country in 2022.
The source told CNN that the Hwasong-17 appeared to have failed after the second stage of separation and fell into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The spokesperson for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, said in a statement on Thursday that Washington "strongly condemns" North Korea's ballistic missile tests because they are a "flagrant violation" of several multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
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Written by Jace Dela Cruz
