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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Another N.Korean Missile Launch Flops | |
| 2016-10-23 | |
The launch came around 7 a.m. Thursday, shortly after the foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and the U.S. met in Washington to discuss a response to the nuclear and missile threats from the North. The Joint Chiefs of Staff here said the North fired the missile from an air base in North Pyognan Province but it fizzled shortly afterwards. Seoul and Washington believe that it was a missile they insist on calling "Musudan" after its original launch pad, though the official North Korean name is Hwasong-10. It was the eighth failure of a Musudan launch since April, though one launched June 22 completed a steep trajectory of over 1,000 km. "It seems that the North pressed ahead with the launch in a bid to show its resistance to international pressure," a military source here said. On Saturday, the missile was also launched from an inland area rather than the east coast. "We expect that the North will keep attempting to launch missiles until it succeeds as it did in June," the source added. The JCS again dragged its heels announcing the launch, letting the U.S. steal a march on the announcement, though it did not wait 19 hours as it did last time. "South Korea's Aegis ships or Green Pine radar can detect North Korean missiles only after they come up above a certain altitude due to the curved surface of the earth. They failed to detect the launch probably because the missile exploded below the altitude," another source said. "We have to rely on information from the U.S.' early warning satellite system for North Korean missiles shortly after they are fired." | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 They're having trouble getting their missiles up. No Dong indeed. |
| Posted by: The peanut gallery 2016-10-23 14:49 |
| #3 detect North Korean missiles only after they come up above a certain altitude due to the curved surface of the earth The earth is curved? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2016-10-23 14:31 |
| #2 Their German scientists aren't as good as ours were. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-10-23 09:59 |
| #1 At some point they're going to get it right. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-10-23 00:37 |