N Korean missile explodes in air in failed launch

Seoul, South Korea: A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded soon after liftoff in an apparent failed weapons launch on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, amid speculation that the North is preparing to launch its longest-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

Details of the missile explosion and the possibility of civilian damages weren’t immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks.

The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of less than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasn’t publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue.

He said the cause of the explosion wasn’t known. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said the launch was made from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the North’s capital, around 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) but gave no other details.

Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, said the missile likely exploded less than a minute after its launch. He said if the missile’s toxic fuels fell on civilian residential areas in North Korea, they would likely cause a major health impact.

There was no immediate outside report of such damages in North Korea. The Sunan area is where North Korea’s international airport is located. (AP)