Although North Korea claims to have tested a new tactical ballistic missile that can carry a “super-large warhead,” South Korean authorities and analysts are skeptical and believe the North probably made up the test to cover up a failed launch.
The missile used in the test, the Hwasongpho-11 Da-4.5, can carry warheads of a class that can hold 4.5 tons. The two ballistic missile launches that South Korea claimed North Korea carried out on Monday seem to have been the subject of the test.
The second missile fired by North Korea was determined to have fallen in an unpopulated region close to Pyongyang, the capital of the North, according to a briefing later on Tuesday by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon. According to him, there have been very few North Korean test rockets that have targeted locations on the ground.
According to the South Korean military, the second missile launched from North Korea may have flown unusually during its first stage of flight. The report concluded that the missile’s fragments would have landed on the ground in the event of an explosion. Neither the launch location nor the landing site of the new missile were specified in the KCNA dispatch. In contrast to their earlier efforts, North Korea also refrained from sharing any images from Monday’s nuclear test.
North Korea has severely ramped up its weapons testing since 2022 in an effort to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal. According to North Korea, the recently tested missile is intended for South Korea based on its stated ranges. In the long run, experts believe North Korea would seek to enhance its bargaining position in future U.S. talks by amassing a more formidable stockpile of weapons.
South Korea is convinced the North Korean story is an attempt to conceal the fact that the launch had failed.
