DPRK's attempt to launch ballistic missile 'a failure'

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Friday attempted to launch what is believed to have been a mobile ballistic missile into its eastern waters early in the morning, but the attempt appeared to have failed, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

A JCS official said that the DPRK tried to launch an unspecified number of projectiles in its eastern region and the attempt was estimated to have failed.

The official declined to elaborate on the number, range and type of the projectiles, saying details would be made known after further analysis.

The projectiles are believed to have been parts of a Musudan missile, which is allegedly capable of striking parts of the US territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska.

The ROK's military had dispatched an Aegis-equipped destroyer to the East Sea to detect and track the possible launch of the missile at or around the so-called Day of the Sun.

The Day of the Sun is an annual public holiday in the DPRK that falls on April 15 to commemorate the birthday of Kim Il-sung, founder of the country and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un.

The DPRK had reportedly deployed one to two mobile Musudan missiles about three weeks earlier to its eastern Wonsan area.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time that Pyongyang has test-fired a Musudan missile and also the first time that the country has launched ballistic missiles from a mobile launcher. Pyongyang is known to have deployed around 50 mobile Musudan missiles.

(China Daily 04/16/2016 page9)