Three US officials revealed that the US intelligence services are trying to determine whether North Korea It tested a ballistic missile with unprecedented properties earlier this week.
North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles on Wednesday involved a missile traveling on an unusual trajectory, the officials said, as the missile had a flight path that two officials described as a “double arc” where the missile ascends and descends twice.
The trajectory could indicate that the goal was to test North Korea’s ability to launch a missile and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to reach the target, according to two officials.
Also, the second stage of the missile’s potential “double arc” would be a reentry vehicle separated from the main missile.
extraordinary flight
For his part, one of the officials said that it was not yet completely clear to the United States whether this was all part of the planned itinerary, according to what was reported by CNN on Friday.
The officials emphasized that the US intelligence assessment of the three test launches is still in its early stages.
An intercontinental ballistic missile launched by North Korea
It is not clear which of the three missiles fired had an unusual flight pattern.
Japan, for its part, has publicly hinted that one of the missiles flew in an unusual way, with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi describing it as an “irregular trajectory”.
In turn, South Korea said that a missile was supposed to have been launched at about 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, with a flight range of about 360 kilometers (223 miles) and an altitude of approximately 540 kilometers (335 miles).
3 missiles
At about 6:37 a.m. local time that day, North Korea launched a second ballistic missile, not believed to be an ICBM, which appears to have disappeared from South Korean tracking at an altitude of 20 kilometers (12 miles), South Korea said. . Also, one of the initial assessments indicated that it was possible that the missile had flown over a populated area in North Korea.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the third missile, presumably a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), flew about 760 kilometers (472 miles) and had an altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles).
North Korea missile test launch (AFP)
The missile tests followed US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region, which included a stop in South Korea.
These launches mark the 16th time North Korea has tested its missiles this year, including what the United States believes was a failed ICBM test on May 4 that exploded shortly after launch.
But North Korea is believed to have tested an ICBM in late March.