Using surveillance footage, South Korea refutes North Korea’s missile achievement

Claims of a successful test have been refuted by a video released by South Korea that shows a North Korean missile failing after launch.

The South Korean military made a footage of a North Korean missile failing and exploding shortly after launch public on Friday. This unorthodox action was taken in response to North Korea’s claim of a successful test.

The rocket spirals erratically before bursting apart in the video, which was taken by frontline South Korean soldiers using a thermal observation gadget.

In a statement released on Friday, the South Korean military declared that “flight instability” was the cause of the missile’s explosion, rejecting North Korea’s claims of success as purposeful disinformation meant to hide the failure.

South Korea denied Pyongyang’s claims that it had successfully carried out a major test on Wednesday to create missiles that can carry multiple warheads, according to North Korean official media.

According to North Korea’s KCNA news agency, the country’s missile authorities experimented with the separation and guidance of several warheads using the first-stage engine of an intermediate-range ballistic missile powered by solid fuel.

The military of South Korea said that it had seen signs of missile launch preparations early on Wednesday and had watched the rocket launch happen.

Pyongyang’s announcement in April of the testing of a new solid fuel-powered, intermediate-range hypersonic missile added to the growing international race for sophisticated, long-range missiles that are challenging to track and intercept.