North Korea announced on Thursday that it successfully tested the launch of a multiple warhead missile, confirming that the experiment succeeded in all stages of separation, control, guidance, and target striking. The official Korean News Agency reported that the army "successfully conducted on June 26 a test for separating and controlling the guidance of individual movable warheads," affirming that "the separated movable warheads were successfully guided to three designated targets."
The agency explained that "the test aims to secure MIRV capability," which means the ability to launch multiple warheads from a single ballistic missile. This announcement comes a day after the South Korean military confirmed that Pyongyang launched what appeared to be a hypersonic missile on Wednesday, but the experiment failed as the missile exploded in mid-air.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the North Korean missile was launched from an area near or in Pyongyang around 5:30 AM Wednesday (20:30 UTC Tuesday), and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting a detailed analysis of the launch. However, an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul suggested that the test likely ended in failure after a flight that extended approximately 250 kilometers.
The official noted that the missile emitted more smoke than usual, increasing the likelihood of issues during the combustion process, pointing out that the missile likely uses solid fuel.
Tokyo also confirmed the launch of a North Korean missile. The Japanese Coast Guard indicated that the missile fell into the Sea of Japan, also referred to as the East Sea. However, the Korean News Agency noted on Thursday that the test "was conducted using the first stage engine of a medium-range ballistic missile powered by solid fuel within a range of 170-200 kilometers."
It added that "the effectiveness of a decoy separate from the missile was also verified using anti-aircraft radar." This new missile test comes amid increasing tensions along the inter-Korean border, with the isolated communist state launching more balloons laden with waste into South Korea in response to propaganda balloons sent by the South.
