This photo allegedly shows the test of a rocket with a test satellite at the Sohae satellite launch site in North Korea. The image was provided by the state news agency KCNA, its content cannot be independently verified. © Uncredited/KCNA via KNS/AP
North Korea has been pushing ahead with its missile program for many years. Now the launch of a multi-stage rocket briefly raises alarm in Seoul, South Korea.
According to the military in South Korea, North Korea has fired a multi-stage missile in a southerly direction, causing uncertainty in the metropolis of Seoul. It could be a satellite launch vehicle, said the General Staff in Seoul on Wednesday morning (local time).
Alarm sirens were heard in the South Korean capital. In text messages, citizens were called upon to go to shelters if necessary. The alarm was later withdrawn. It was a mistake, the Ministry of the Interior said.
North Korea had recently announced an imminent satellite launch. South Korea and the U.S. evaluated this as a presumably imminent test of a missile with ballistic missile technology. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from launching such missiles, as they can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, North Korea has tested missiles and cruise missiles several times again this year. Dpa