North Korea’s Second Musudan Launch Reportedly Ends In Failure

It appears that whatever issues the North Koreans had with their first Musudan launch they have not been able to identify because the missile has reportedly once again blown up shortly after launch.  What is significant about this is that the Musudan is the missile that the North Koreans have developed to specifically target the US territory of Guam and threaten US forces there with a nuclear strike.  As it is now Kim Jong-un might just be happy if his Musudan gets up in the air much less reaching Guam.  These failed tests also calls into question their other road mobile missile technology such as the KN-08 which they claim can target the US mainland with nuclear weapons:

North Korea fired off what appeared to be its Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) early Thursday, but the launch seems to have ended in failure, a military official said.

The missile appears to be the same model that North Korea tried to launch on April 15, according to the insider.

“The missile, presumed to be a Musudan, was fired around 6:40 a.m. from the vicinity of Wonsan, but it appears to have crashed a few seconds later,” the official said.

“It is highly likely that the launch failed. With that in mind, South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed assessment,” he said.

Others said the missile seems to have plunged into the coastal area, and the failed launch was caught by a U.S. surveillance satellite.  [Yonhap]

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