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| 2nd North Korean Missile Test in 2 Weeks Fails, South Says | 2nd North Korean Missile Test in 2 Weeks Fails, South Says |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Thursday, but the projectile crashed into the sea just seconds later, making it the North’s second failed test launch in two weeks, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. | SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Thursday, but the projectile crashed into the sea just seconds later, making it the North’s second failed test launch in two weeks, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. |
| The missile, believed to be Pyongyang’s road-mobile Musudan missile, was fired from a site near Wonsan, a port on North Korea’s east coast, at 6:40 a.m., the ministry said in a statement. South Korean and United States officials were investigating the cause of the failure, it said. | The missile, believed to be Pyongyang’s road-mobile Musudan missile, was fired from a site near Wonsan, a port on North Korea’s east coast, at 6:40 a.m., the ministry said in a statement. South Korean and United States officials were investigating the cause of the failure, it said. |
| North Korea first launched a Musudan on April 15, a test that ended in what officials in Seoul and Washington called a spectacular failure as the projectile exploded shortly after liftoff. | North Korea first launched a Musudan on April 15, a test that ended in what officials in Seoul and Washington called a spectacular failure as the projectile exploded shortly after liftoff. |
| Two successive failed launches would be embarrassing for North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, just days before a rare congress of his ruling Workers’ Party, which will be the North’s biggest political meeting in decades. Outside analysts had expected a dramatic gesture like a Musudan launch, or possibly the country’s fifth nuclear test, in an attempt to burnish Mr. Kim’s image before the congress, which begins on May 6 and is being widely seen as a platform for the young leader to bolster his grip on power. | Two successive failed launches would be embarrassing for North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, just days before a rare congress of his ruling Workers’ Party, which will be the North’s biggest political meeting in decades. Outside analysts had expected a dramatic gesture like a Musudan launch, or possibly the country’s fifth nuclear test, in an attempt to burnish Mr. Kim’s image before the congress, which begins on May 6 and is being widely seen as a platform for the young leader to bolster his grip on power. |
| The Musudan is an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of 1,860 to 2,180 miles, long enough to reach United States military bases in Guam. South Korean military officials believe the Musudan, a modified version of a submarine-launched missile from the Soviet military, was designed to carry nuclear warheads, but it remains unclear whether the North is capable of making nuclear weapons small and sophisticated enough to be mounted on such a missile. | The Musudan is an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of 1,860 to 2,180 miles, long enough to reach United States military bases in Guam. South Korean military officials believe the Musudan, a modified version of a submarine-launched missile from the Soviet military, was designed to carry nuclear warheads, but it remains unclear whether the North is capable of making nuclear weapons small and sophisticated enough to be mounted on such a missile. |
| In March, Mr. Kim ordered his military to conduct more tests of ballistic missiles capable of delivering such warheads. | In March, Mr. Kim ordered his military to conduct more tests of ballistic missiles capable of delivering such warheads. |
| North Korea has tested many of its short-range Scud and medium-range Rodong missiles, but not much is known about the Musudan, which was unveiled in 2010 during a military parade in Pyongyang. | North Korea has tested many of its short-range Scud and medium-range Rodong missiles, but not much is known about the Musudan, which was unveiled in 2010 during a military parade in Pyongyang. |
| North Korea has repeatedly threatened nuclear strikes against the United States in recent months, but it has never flight-tested a long-range missile. Officials and analysts in the region doubt it has built a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the American mainland. In recent weeks, however, Pyongyang has claimed a series of successes in testing various technologies needed to make an intercontinental ballistic missile. |