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| North Korean Missile Test Fails, South Says, Bringing String of Crashes to 3 | North Korean Missile Test Fails, South Says, Bringing String of Crashes to 3 |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea failed to launch two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said, adding to a string of unsuccessful weapons tests in the past two weeks. | SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea failed to launch two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said, adding to a string of unsuccessful weapons tests in the past two weeks. |
| The first attempted launch of the powerful Musudan missile crashed into the sea seconds after ignition. Hours after that attempt, North Korea fired another missile of the same type but that test also failed, the ministry said. | The first attempted launch of the powerful Musudan missile crashed into the sea seconds after ignition. Hours after that attempt, North Korea fired another missile of the same type but that test also failed, the ministry said. |
| Thursday’s attempts bring the total failures in launching the Musudan — one of the North’s most powerful missiles deployed or under development — to three in the past two weeks, according to South Korean officials. | Thursday’s attempts bring the total failures in launching the Musudan — one of the North’s most powerful missiles deployed or under development — to three in the past two weeks, according to South Korean officials. |
| The successive failures are a potential embarrassment for North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, just days before a rare congress of his ruling Workers’ Party, the North’s biggest political meeting in decades. | The successive failures are a potential embarrassment for North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, just days before a rare congress of his ruling Workers’ Party, 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 widely seen as a platform for the young leader to bolster his grip on power. | 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 widely seen as a platform for the young leader to bolster his grip on power. |
| On Thursday, President Park Geun-hye of South Korea said there were signs that another nuclear test by North Korea may be imminent. Such a test would trigger more sanctions and leave the North with “no future,” she warned. | |
| 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. |
| After that test the United Nations Security Council issued a statement warning increased sanctions if the North’s provocations continued. North Korea is banned by the Security Council from testing ballistic missiles. | After that test the United Nations Security Council issued a statement warning increased sanctions if the North’s provocations continued. North Korea is banned by the Security Council from testing ballistic missiles. |
| North Korea flouted that warning on Thursday by firing the two Musudan missiles from sites near Wonsan, a port on North Korea’s east coast, the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement. South Korean and American officials were investigating the cause of the failure, it said. | North Korea flouted that warning on Thursday by firing the two Musudan missiles from sites near Wonsan, a port on North Korea’s east coast, the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement. South Korean and American officials were investigating the cause of the failure, it said. |
| The Musudan missile has a range of 1,860 to 2,180 miles, long enough to reach United States military bases in Guam. South Korean military officials say 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 missile has a range of 1,860 to 2,180 miles, long enough to reach United States military bases in Guam. South Korean military officials say 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 technologies needed to make an intercontinental ballistic missile. |