Why is North Korea launching a spree of test missiles?
In a remarkable show of persistence,聽North聽Korea聽on Wednesday fired two suspected powerful new Musudan midrange ballistic聽missiles, U.S. and South Korean military officials said, its fifth and sixth such attempts since April.
Five of those launches failed, many exploding in midair or crashing, and the sixth flew only about 400 kilometers (250 miles), South聽Korea's聽Joint Chiefs of Staff said, an improvement but still well short of the聽missile's聽potential 3,500-kilometer (2,180-mile) range and not long enough to be classified as intermediate.
Despite the repeated failures, the聽North's聽determination in testing the Musudan worries Washington and its allies, Tokyo and Seoul, because the聽missile's聽range puts much of Asia and the Pacific, including U.S. military bases there, within reach.
Each new test 鈥� apparently linked to a command from聽North聽Korean leader Kim Jong Un 鈥� also likely provides valuable insights to the聽North's聽scientists and military officials as they push toward their goal of a nuclear andmissile聽program that can threaten the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang earlier this year conducted a nuclear test, its fourth, and launched a long-range rocket that outsiders say was a cover for a test of banned聽missile聽technology.
A statement from South聽Korea's聽Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected first Musudan launch from the east coast city of Wonsan failed early Wednesday morning, but there were few other details.
Later Wednesday, the JCS said the聽North聽fired another suspected Musudan, which flew about 400 kilometers. Seoul didn't immediately classify this launch as either a success or failure, but the reported distance is well short of past tests of other midrange聽missiles.
A U.S. official also said the first launch appeared to be another failure, adding that the U.S. was assessing exactly what had happened. The official wasn't authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity. Another American official said the first launch was a suspected Musudan but initial indications were that it failed in flight over the Sea of Japan, which the聽Koreas聽call the East Sea.
The U.S. Strategic Command in Hawaii said its systems detected and tracked two suspected聽North聽Korean Musudanmissiles聽that fell into the Sea of Japan. It said in a statement that they didn't pose a threat to聽North聽America.
In April,聽North聽Korea聽attempted unsuccessfully to launch three suspected Musudan聽missiles, but all exploded in midair or crashed, according to South Korean defense officials. Earlier this month,聽North聽Korea聽had another suspected Musudan failure, South Korean officials said.
Before April's launches,聽North聽Korea聽had never flight-tested a Musudan聽missile, although one was displayed during a military parade in 2010 in Pyongyang, its capital.
The launches appear to stem from Kim Jong Un's order in March for more nuclear and ballistic聽missile聽tests. The order was an apparent response to springtime U.S.-South Korean military drills, which聽North聽Korea聽views as an invasion rehearsal.
Since the end of those military drills, Pyongyang has repeatedly called for the resumption of talks with Seoul, even as it pursues new聽missile聽development, but the South has rejected the overtures. Seoul wants the聽North聽to first take steps toward nuclear disarmament. Pyongyang says its rivals must negotiate with it as an established nuclear power, something Washington and Seoul refuse to do.
The string of recent launch attempts shows the聽North聽is pushing hard to upgrade its聽missile聽capability in defiance of U.S.-led international pressure. The聽North聽was slapped with the strongest U.N. sanctions in two decades after its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year.
"These provocations only serve to increase the international community's resolve to counter (North聽Korea's) prohibited activities, including through implementing existing U.N. Security Council sanctions," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "We intend to raise our concerns at the U.N. to bolster international resolve in holding (North聽Korea) accountable for these provocative actions."
North聽Korea聽has recently claimed a series of breakthroughs in its push to build a long-range nuclear聽missile聽that can strike the American mainland. But South Korean officials have said the聽North聽doesn't yet possess such a weapon.
The聽North, however, has already deployed a variety of聽missiles聽that can reach most targets in South聽Korea聽and Japan, including American military bases in the countries.
The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South聽Korea聽to deter possible aggression fromNorth聽Korea; tens of thousands more are stationed in Japan.
