By Kim Tong-hyung
Associated Press
A South Korean ballistic missile malfunctioned and crashed into the ground early Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the United States, sowing panic among residents of a coastal city already unsettled by increasingly provocative weapons tests. from North Korea.
The sound of the explosion and the subsequent fire led many in Gangneung to believe it could be a North Korean attack, a fear that was heightened as
the military and government gave no explanation for what happened for hours.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff finally said no injuries have been reported from the accident involving a short-range Hyumoo-2 ballistic missile, which crashed into an air force base on the outskirts of the city.
The Army said it was investigating the cause of the "abnormal flight" of the missile, a key weapon in South Korea's pre-emptive and retaliatory attack strategies against the North.
In this photo provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry, a missile from the Army's Tactical Missile System is fired during a joint U.S.-South Korea military exercise at an undisclosed location on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. .AP
The Army said the test was intended as a show of force by South Korea and the United States, following the launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that crossed Japan early Tuesday and forced local authorities to evacuate part of the country. of the population, in
North Korea's most provocative weapons demonstration
in years.
The Kim Jong-un regime, which has accumulated a record number of North Korean launches this year, is focused on developing a complete nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the continental United States and its allies, with the aim of being recognized as a nuclear State and obtain concessions from those countries.
[Russia mobilizes a submarine with Poseidon torpedoes, 'the weapon of the Apocalypse', capable of causing radioactive tsunamis on the coast]
The recognition by the South Korean Army of the failure of the missile came hours after anonymous people raised the alarm by posting videos on social networks, in which an orange ball of flames is seen coming out of an area near the base. aerial.
The Gangneung fire department and city hall said emergency crews went to the air force base and a nearby army base in response to calls about a possible explosion, but were sent back by the military.
The UN denounces that the physical integrity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was violated
Sept.
2, 202200:27
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday's joint exercises with the United States also
fired four Army Tactical Missile System
(ATACMS) missiles.
and another Hyumoo-2 missile, which flew successfully.
The allies on Tuesday test-fired fighter jets at a target off South Korea's western coast.
North Korea has fired nearly
40 ballistic missiles
in a score of different launches this year, taking advantage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a further split in the UN Security Council to accelerate weapons development.
The United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the latest North Korean launch.
Diplomats said it is likely to take place on Wednesday, but it is not certain whether it will be open or closed.
