After five failures, North Korea has apparently had some success with its intermediate range Musudan missile, which in theory would have the range to threaten Japan and the U.S. military bases on Guam.
The U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii said U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what was assessed to be two separate North Korean missile launches, the first at 10:56 a.m. and the second at 1:03 p.m. Hawaii time.
The two presumed Musudan intermediate range ballistic were tracked over the Sea of Japan, where they fell harmlessly into the ocean, posing no threat to North America, a statement said.
But while the first launch Tuesday was judged a likely failure, the second traveled some 250 miles, halfway to Japan, indicating a least a partial success.
In March, the U.S. Security Council tightened sanctions against North Korea over its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“We strongly condemn this and other North Korea missile tests in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology,” said Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for Pacific Command.
“We urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that aggravate tensions and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments.”
North Korea has failed in four previous attempts to launch the Musudan in April and May, according to Pentagon officials.
South Korean media reports suggest the North has up to 30 of the Musudan missiles, first deployed around 2007, although this is the first year the North has ever attempted to test-fire them.
