Testing of Hwasong-12 missle confirmed by North Korea
North Korea confirmed it had fired a Hwasong-12 “mid-range ballistic missile”, state media reported Monday, the first time it has tested a weapon that powerful since 2017.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday’s test of the Hwasong-12 missile was aimed at selectively evaluating the missile being produced and deployed and verify its overall accuracy.
It said a camera installed at the missile’s warhead took an image of Earth from space, and the Academy of Defense Science confirmed the accuracy, security and effectiveness of the operation of the weapons system.
The launch was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. Analysts and officials said the test appeared to involve an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which North Korea has not tested since 2017 when it suspended testing its largest missiles and its nuclear weapons.
Leader Kim Jong-un was not reported to have attended the test, which was at least the seventh launch in January, one of the busiest ever for North Korea’s advancing missile programme.
